Native bees are essential pollinators that support healthy ecosystems and agricultural productivity across Alberta. Yet despite more than 370 native bee species living in the province, nearly two-thirds lack enough data to determine their conservation status. Without reliable information on where species occur and how populations are changing, protecting pollinators and the ecosystems that depend on them becomes extremely difficult.
To address this gap, the Alberta Native Bee Council launched the Alberta Native Bee Monitoring Program, Alberta’s first coordinated, province-wide effort to track native bee biodiversity over time. Through partnerships with researchers, government agencies, volunteers, and land managers, the program deploys low-cost monitoring kits across Alberta’s diverse landscapes, including remote areas rarely studied for native bees.
Since launching in 2018, the program has documented tens of thousands of native bees across 147 monitoring sites throughout the province. This growing dataset is expanding knowledge of Alberta’s native bee diversity and distribution while providing the critical information needed to guide conservation efforts and protect pollinators and the ecosystems that depend on them.
