Researchers invite community members to help Colorado’s bees from home

BOULDER, Colo. (KKTV) – Colorado has more than 1,000 different species of bees across the state, and CU Boulder researchers say we still don’t know enough about them. Eager to continue their research, they are asking for help from the community.

“One of the questions I get asked all the time is, ‘Are the bees in trouble?’ And for the most part, we don’t know,” Virginia Scott, manager of insect collections at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, told 11 News when asked about the importance of the university’s ongoing program. “Big Bee Bonanza” project.

According to CU BoulderBig-Bee Bonanza is a “community science project…giving people throughout Colorado and beyond the opportunity to immerse themselves in the colorful and bustling world of the state’s bees.” Participants in the project said it gives community members the opportunity to help university researchers digitize thousands upon thousands of records related to the museum’s insect collection, particularly bees.

“Right now we have tens of thousands of samples sitting in data cabinets, but it’s very difficult to find the time to look at and decipher that data,” Scott said. Scott also said this not only helps make this data available to researchers and conservationists, but also gives community members a look at museum collections they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to see.

Scott said most of the bee species in their collection are native to Colorado, and this kind of data allows researchers to track trends and patterns over the past nearly 130 years.

“We have things that were collected from places that are now ghost towns or under places that are now reservoirs,” Scott said of the collection.

A public event where community members can learn more about the project and participate in it will be held next Thursday, November 7, at the museum. Henderson Building from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

An extended interview with Scott about the project can be found at the bottom of this article.

University of Colorado Museum of Natural History Insect Collections Manager Virginia Scott talks with 11 News about the Big-Bee Bonanza Project, Colorado bees