by Renee’ Benage, Membership Chairperson and Plant Sale Chairperson
You may not be familiar with Shutterbee and what they are excited about…
Shutterbee is a citizen science program which is a collaborative effort among scientists and volunteers to monitor bees in the St. Louis metropolitan area of Missouri and Illinois. The primary goal is to better understand what promotes bee diversity and bee-plant interactions in residential and community gardens while sharing a passion for bee conservation.
Participants in Shutterbee have been through training classes both virtually and on-site. Observations are made and uploaded to the iNaturalist app. Trained researchers identify the bees (and plants, if not already identified). They use the data gathered to test hypotheses regarding bee diversity and behavior, and periodically share information with participants and on social media posts.
2023 classes are closed, but every spring, new participants are invited to enroll. If interested, email shutterbee@webster.edu. More information at https://shutterbee.net/about/
Now – on to the excitement! In the latest newsletter to participants, Dr. Nicole Miller-Struttmann shared that Shutterbee member (and Wild Ones member) Ned Siegel caught a picture of a Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee (Bombus citrinus) during a survey recently. This species is a kleptoparasite to other bumble bees, and this sighting is the first of its kind in the St. Louis region in a very long time! Ecologically speaking, knowing how, where, and when populations shift can be vital.
Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee (Bombus citrinus)
Photo by Ned Siegel
In a separate observation, Shutterbee member (and Wild One member) Michael Wohlstadter captured images of an endangered bee, the Southern Plains Bumble Bee (Bombus fraternus) in the Southhampton “Marie’s Wedge” native garden. Out of the 12 observations of this bee in Missouri this year, 2 were in Southampton, specifically in Marie’s Wedge.
Southern Plains Bumble Bee (Bombus fraternus)
Photo by Michael Wohlstadter
Many members of St. Louis Wild Ones are actively participating in Shutterbee. All observations made, not just the rare or endangered, are valuable to researchers.
As a member of Wild Ones, you have already started to make a difference by landscaping with native plants. You can also be a citizen scientist (even without joining Shutterbee) by making observations of the natural world in the iNaturalist app. On-line tutorials are available for learning to use iNaturalist correctly and effectively.
Congrats to Ned & Michael for their exciting observations!
