Planning surveys

Where to set up your plot

Any area you have permission

• • Your yard or garden

  • Use public land layer on the Grid Cell map to find public areas

  • Consult park managers before using public spaces

  • Permits are required to survey at State or National Parks. No permit is required to survey at State Forests. No permit is required to survey a State Wildlife Management Area, but please first contact the appropriate wildlife area manager to obtain permission and for safety reasons.

  • Nest Quest is seeking permits to survey at select MN Scientific and Natural Areas. Stay tuned.

  • Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Recreation Compass of Public Lands (Even though these lands are publicly assessable, many of them still require proper permits or other permissions prior to surveying).

Habitats of interest

• Prairies

• Forest

• Pastures

• Gardens

Navigating to your plot

• Google Maps with Overlaid Grid (you will be able to find the grid number of your

adopted cell to help you plan a trip).

How to survey

Set up a 5 x 5 meter survey plot

Find a place where a 5 x 5 meter survey plot can be measured out. Measure out the 5 meter (~16 feet) sides of your plot using a meter tape, yard stick, other measuring device, or by counting paces. Use flags, flagging tape, driveway markers, rocks, tall sticks, or something else to mark the corners of your plot. If your plot does not seem close to the length of two parking spaces or an average canoe, re-measure. If a 5 x 5 meter plot does not fit in the area you would like to survey, you can set up a 2.5 x 10 meter plot. This long, 2.5 x 10 meter plot is great for long garden beds, fencelines, hedges or windbreaks, and edge habitats.

Collect data

Follow these steps to complete your data collection:

1. Fill out Part 1 (survey information) on the Bumble bee nest survey data sheet. Record locality, date, weather, etc.

2. Move to the opposite corner when the timer is done and set another 10-minute timer. At the end of the time, record “Survey end time”.

3. After your 20 minutes of nest surveying, fill out Parts 2 and 3 of your Bumble bee nest survey data sheet.

4. Take a photo of your plot to upload with the rest of your data.

5. Take a photo of your completed data sheet.

6. Remove your plot markers.

If you FOUND A NEST during your survey, fill out the Bumble bee nest discovery datasheet on the opposite side of the Bumble bee nest discovery survey data sheet and document the nest with photos of the nest sight and a video of nest activity. Complete this data sheet only if you find a nest. If you found more than one nest, fill out a separate “Bumble bee nest discovery” datasheet for each nest. Be aware that bumble bee nests can have more than one entrance.

Set up a new plot and conduct another survey

Each survey takes place in a new plot, regardless of whether or not you discovered a nest during your survey.  If your schedule allows, conduct more than one survey in an area on the same day. We recommend surveying once every three weeks and conducting two surveys each time. For example, survey dates in Late June, mid-July, and early August would result in six surveys spread across peak activity times of different bumble bee species. We ask volunteers to complete a minimum of two surveys, but volunteers who complete six surveys in a season will receive a Bumble Bee Nest Quest badge.