Sweet Citizen Science for National Honey Month

bumblebee on a flower
Johanna James-Heinz

“For bees the flower is the fountain of life. For flowers, the bee is the messenger of love.”

-Kahlil Gibran

In honor of National Honey Month we’ve highlighted a few citizen science projects you can do to help us better understand our buzzing friends the bees. From honey bees to bumble bees, there’s something for everyone.

Cheers!
The SciStarter Team

Have you ever wondered what species of bumble bees live in your neighborhood? Start your own virtual bumble bee collection by sharing photos of bees and experts will help you identify them! You may be the person that locates a new population of a rare bumble bee species!

Get Started!

drawings of bees
BethannMerkle

Many species of bees make their homes underground, right beneath our feet! But we don’t know a lot about these particular bees. By studying the germs (pathogens) underground dwelling bees carry, we can better understand how to help them.

Get Started!

USGS
honeybee on a flower

Zombie flies are parasitizing bees in California and possibly other areas too! Capture honeybees and observe them over several days to look for Zombie fly pupae to emerge.

Get Started!

bee drinking from water
Schanin – pixabay

What kind of water do bees prefer? What kind of water makes for the best honey production? By taking pictures of bees visiting water you can help answer these and other questions about bees, water, and honey.

Get Started!

Jane Crayton

Did you know that bees are out collecting pollen, even in the fall? Taking pictures of bees and the flowers they’re collecting nectar from or pollinating can help researchers better understand bee behavior.

Get Started!

Discover more citizen science on the SciStarter calendar. Did you know your SciStarter dashboard helps you track your contributions to projects? Complete your profile to access free tools. Want even more citizen science? Check out SciStarter’s Project Finder! With 1100+ citizen science projects spanning every field of research, task and age group, there’s something for everyone!

Categories: Citizen Science, Featured Projects

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About the Author

Sarah Newman

Sarah Newman

I stumbled into citizen science over a decade ago and have been immersed in it ever since. I'm currently a Research Associate at Colorado State University's Natural Resource Ecology Lab, working with the international citizen science platform CitSci.org. I enjoy learning about new citizen science developments working with SciStarter. You can also find me musing about citizen science at ACitizenScienceLife.com.