Diversity of Native Bees Prompts Unusual Study at Carolina Refuge

A U.S. Geological Survey biologist, impressed by the number of rare, native bees at Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge, will start a year-long study of bees on the South Carolina refuge this spring as a springboard to launching a national bee survey. The survey eventually should help scientists track changes in bee populations.

During his first visit last spring to the 45,000-acre refuge—located in McBee, of all places—biologist Sam Droege found 56 bee species in just two days of investigation; 20 had never before been recorded in the state. When he returns this spring, he plans to recruit volunteers from the refuge’s Friends group to help him test a bee-trapping program that he hopes to replicate on other public lands.

As Droege explained, some scientists believe native bees are on the decline. If that’s true, the implications could be far-reaching: Fewer bees could mean fewer wildflowers, nut and fruit crops, and seeds for other agricultural plants.

Droege also is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and University of Georgia to create a bee-identification guide at www.discoverlife.org. Photographs are being added as they come available, and information is listed on each known bee, about 4,000 nationwide.

Contact: Sam Droege, 301-497-5840; sdroege@usgs.gov.