Oregon Bee Atlas

Mission statement: The Oregon Bee Atlas Master Melittologist Program trains and equips citizen scientists to: a) create and maintain a comprehensive and publicly accessible inventory of the state’s native bees and their plant-host preferences, b) to educate Oregonians on the state’s bee biodiversity and c) to conduct an on-going survey of native bee populations in order to assess their health.

The success of the Oregon Bee Atlas, like Oregon Flora, rests on the shoulders of committed volunteers. The Master Melittologist program is about Oregonians boldly going where no amateur melittologist has gone before! Specimen records are added annually to newly digitized historic records from the Oregon State Arthropod Collection to build the first comprehensive account of the native bee fauna of Oregon.

The Atlas is an initiative of Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon State University Pollinator Health Extension Program and the Oregon State University Pollinator Health Extension Program, and is currently supported by generous contributions from the FFAR Pollinator Health Fund, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Pollinator Health Fund and donations from many Oregonians who love bees.