This summer, NEWLT had the opportunity to support the research of University of Minnesota graduate student Mary Powley. As a PhD student in the Cariveau Native Bee Lab, Mary researches bee-plant interactions and habitat associations. She is particularly focused on investigating whether or not detection and occupancy of the federally endangered rusty patched bumblebee differs between urban and rural areas. Mary, along with technicians Franie and Ella, visited many sites throughout Wisconsin to collect data throughout the summer. One of their favorite sites to visit was our Red Banks Alvar preserve.

Red Banks proved to be a useful site due to its proximity to the Green Bay metro area as well as its open landscape, which supports a wide variety of mid to late summer flowering plants for bumble bee foraging. The team encountered many kinds of bees while surveying at Red Banks, as well as a variety of other insects. They even stumbled across a fox snake at the end of one of their surveys.

Here at NEWLT, we appreciate being able to support conservation research. We look forward to seeing the results of Mary’s project when the time comes, and we invite other interested researchers to contact us about collecting data on our preserves.

The Wisconsin Bumble Bee Brigade is coordinated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. As a citizen-based monitoring project, we partner with volunteers from the public to conduct long-term monitoring of the state’s native bumble bees.

wiatri.net/inventory/BBB/