Oregon Bee Atlas: native bee findings from 2018

Abstract

The Oregon Bee Atlas is a new volunteer-led effort to characterize the bee fauna of Oregon State by collecting, preparing, and databasing native bee species and capturing plant host records. In 2018, volunteers collected 11,044 bee specimens across 33 Oregon counties, representing 179 unique bee species, and 32 unique bee genera. Specimens were collected from a total of 310 unique flowering plant genera, resulting in one of the largest state-level databases of bee-host plant interactions. Volunteers produced valuable occurrence records for species poorly known for the State, and species of conservation concern. The 2018 efforts constitute a proof-of-concept of a specimen-focused volunteer native bee survey.