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February 2024 - BeeWalk Terms and Conditions and Data Policy have been updated to reflect the wider sharing of BeeWalk data - please review the updated version here (previous version can be found here) If you have any queries, or you do not agree with the updates, please email beewalk@bumblebeeconservation.org.
Getting Started with BeeWalk:
BeeWalk guidance videos - short tutorials guiding you through the website
Health and Safety guidance - guidance on carrying out bumblebee surveys with your health and safety in mind
Data Policy BeeWalk data sharing policy
Site description form to help you record the habitat and land use on your transect
Photography guide to help you take pictures of bumblebees that will maximise the chances of having them identified
Online live training and support - click the link to register:
Online entry-level bumblebee ID training - bumblebee natural history, monitoring and identification, with a focus on our common species.
Online intermediate-level bumblebee ID training - bumblebee monitoring and identification, with a focus on all 24 UK bumblebee species.
Online lunchtime support sessions - guidance on getting started, using the website, surveying your transect etc.
Online evening support sessions - guidance on getting started, using the website, surveying your transect etc.
Identifying Bumblebees:
Recorded online ID sessions with Dr Richard Comont and Clare Flynn - view a range of full online identification sessions, beginner and intermediate, as well as an introduction to bumblebee ecology and surveying
Quick intro to identification - a mini guidance video on getting started with identification of our common bumblebee species
Big 8 ID guide - A4 guide to our common bumblebee species (pdf download)
Cuckoo bumblebee guide - A4 guide to our six cuckoo bumblebee species (pdf download)
The Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society website has a comprehensive gallery and ID guides for download and a facebook page for ID help
The Natural History Museum's (Paul Williams') bumblebee section (includes colour pattern keys)
iSpot, a brilliant website for ID of anything wild
Books:
Gammans, N, Comont, R.F., Morgan, S.C., Perkins, G. (2018) Bumblebees: An Introduction. Bumblebee Conservation Trust. ISBN 0995773904
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s first book, covering field ID of all 25 British bumblebee species and based on ten years’ experience of training beginners in bumblebee ID
Lewington, R (2023) Pocket Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain and Ireland. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4729-9359-5
The newest ID guide, a very easy to use pocket guide with fantastic illustrations, which has become a go to favourite.
Falk, S (2015) Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain & Ireland (Field Guides). British Wildlife Publishing. ISBN 978-1910389034
This in-depth book provides a comprehensive guide to all bee species with the addition of keys, including excellent coverage of bumblebees. Beautifully illustrated by Richard Lewington.
Edwards, M. & Jenner, M. (2009). Field Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain & Ireland. Ocelli Ltd. ISBN 0954971310
An excellent pocket guide, including a quick colour pattern key to UK species
Prys-Jones, O. E. and Corbet, S. A. (2011 - revised edition). Bumblebees (Naturalists' Handbook). Pelagic Publishing. ISBN 1907807063
A really useful book with a slightly more scientific leaning than Edwards & Jenner, including full keys (inc genitalia)
Benton, T (2006) Bumblebees. Collins New Naturalist Library 98. Harper Collins. ISBN 0007174500
An excellent in-depth summary, including species descriptions and a very good key to British bumblebees.
Surveying equipment:
Any butterfly net works (we use beginners nets such as these on our training courses). A wide range of pots such as these are available for holding and viewing your bumblebee whilst you identify it. Some people use a queen marking cage (used by beekeepers to paint a mark on queen honeybees) to hold your bee without harming it while you identify it. A hand lens is useful to see the finer details of your bumblebee.
There are several entomological suppliers online:
