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On January 24th, Wild Basin Creative Research Center hosted a Texas bumble bee identification workshop, organized by Dr. Gabriella Pardee (Research Director) and Dr. Megan McConnell (Native Pollinator Specialist; University of Texas at Austin and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department). The workshop was led by Dr. Jack Neff, who has been chasing and identifying bees around Texas for more than  four decades and directs Central Texas Melittological Institute. Dr. Neff is truly the bee guru of Texas! 

We had over 20 attendees consisting of undergraduates, graduate students, professors, biologists, and educators from TPWD, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, UT Austin, and Travis County, all of whom study pollinators and have an interest in bee conservation. 

Dr. Neff began the workshop with some background on bumble bees, including their nesting behavior, life cycle, and the threats they face. He then described each of the twelve bumble bee species that have been found across Texas. Many of these species are declining, threatened, or under consideration to be listed as federally endangered due to habitat loss from land use change and changing weather patterns owing to  climate change. Therefore, learning how to properly identify bumble bees is critical for better understanding population trends and habitat preferences, and creating targeted conservation plans.

Unlike small-bodied bees that can only be identified to species level under a microscope, it is fairly easy to identify bumble bees with the naked eye due to their large, fuzzy bodies. Bumble bees in Texas are covered in black and yellow dense hairs, and the pattern of these hairs, particularly on the thorax and abdomen, is what can be used to differentiate between species. For example, Bombus morrisoni has a completely yellow thorax, whereas the top half of the thorax for Bombus pensylvanicus is yellow and the bottom half is black.

Creating sustainable habitats for pollinators can easily be done through planting native flowering plants. Establishing gardens with native species that bloom sequentially from early spring through late fall ensures continuous floral availability throughout bees' complete life cycles. Different bee species exhibit specific floral preferences and foraging behaviors, making plant diversity a critical factor in supporting robust pollinator communities. By incorporating a wide variety of native flowering species in residential landscapes, property owners can significantly enhance local habitat quality and maximize bee species richness, thereby contributing to bumble bee conservation.