TBC members at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM) and the US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center (USGS SWBSC) are collecting and monitoring the locals.

Following best practices as outlined in the USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program, researchers and volunteers at the ASDM and at the USGS SWBSC (located on the UA main campus) are undertaking  long-term native bee monitoring programs across a variety of habitats in the Tucson Basin. Below are some photos of monitoring/collection sites.

Many such monitoring efforts have sprung up in recent years, spurred by concern over bee declines. But investment in ecological monitoring has rarely been matched with investment in the taxonomy needed to identify species.  To aid species identification members of the Tucson Bee Collaborative are DNA-barcoding these specimens, which are deposited in the University of Arizona Insect Collection. Below are some specimen examples.