In recent years, the Ohio Biodiversity Conservation Partnership out of Ohio State University has increased conservation efforts in more ways than one. Before OBCP took it upon itself to collect conservation data, Ohio had never surveyed the bees, so the species of bees in the state were relatively unknown.
Karen Goodell, a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at OSU, has been studying bees for more than 35 years. In 2020, she was the principal investigator of the initial bee survey, alongside coordinator and bee taxonomist MaLisa Spring.
Goodell said the study is being funded through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
"They have a partnership with the Ohio State University called the Ohio Biodiversity Conservation Partnership,” Goodell said. “They take some of their federal allotment of money that they get to deal with things like rare species and endangered species.”
When the study began in Spring 2020, it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, so data had to be collected uniquely.
“We weren't allowed to really go anywhere,” Goodell said. “We had already recruited volunteers who were interested in helping us collect bees, so we sent them little kits where they could set out traps on a weekly basis during the growing season.”
The kits contained a soapy water trap to entice the bees. The study is a lethal survey, meaning the bees are trapped so they can then be labeled, sorted, pinned and identified, according to Goodell.
The survey pertains to all types of bees and looks at both generalist and specialist bees.
According to a research article from the Ecological Society of America, there are generalist pollinators that collect nectar and pollen from many different plant species and there are specialist pollinators that obtain floral resources from a limited number of related species.
Goodell said the first round of data collection with the bowl traps resulted in 273 identifiable species. The information from the specialist bee survey brought the species number to approximately 330.
“When we add in historic data, like things that we found in museums, what we can say is that we have at least 492 species of bees that have ever been actually collected in Ohio,” Goodell said.
The Bees of Ohio Field Guide, written by the North American Native Bee Collaborative, outlines five different families of bees, as well as the species within each family.
The field guide has illustrations and pictures of the bees, but also lists flight patterns, characteristics, size relative to honey bees and what flowers they prefer.
The survey is taking place all over the state, and Goodell is taking special care to ensure bees are looked at in all different types of habitats.
“Right now we're really focusing on particular kinds of habitats, so things like places with sandy soils, heavily forested areas, wetlands, bogs and things like that,” Goodell said.
Goodell said the original goal of the study was to try to get a reading on how many species were in Ohio, as well as to learn the distribution of the bees. Now, there is a focus on which species are worthy of conservation efforts.
Goodell also said last spring, her team suggested approximately 17 Ohio bee species be listed as rare or endangered. She said she and her team are constantly thinking of the best ways to gather information.
The funding from the ODNR lasts until June, Goodell said, and the current results are being written up and published.
“Then it'll be a collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources to find out what else they want to know,“ Goodell said. "There are certainly lots of other questions, more specific questions about bees that are of conservation concern that we might pursue. But we'll have to take that up with them and submit a new proposal.”
Despite this part of the study nearing the end, Goodell said, “I will keep studying bees, because that is what I do.”
