Project Description

Bees play an important role in the environment. To protect them, we need to know as much as we can about their distribution. Gaps in our knowledge suggest that some nationally common species are few and far between in the North East, but is this really the case? Your records can help us find out!

Urban or rural, beginner or expert, naturalist or nature lover, everyone can help to increase our knowledge and awareness of bees in the North East. That’s why, this spring and summer, we’re asking you to get out and about in search of bees.

We’ve created a bee identification guide (PDF) to help you identify the target species. If you have sighted a different species of bumblebee, The Bumblebee Conservation Trust has a handy crib sheet (PDF) to help you identify common bumblebees.

Taking part in the NE Bee Hunt is simple. Locate one of five target species, take a photo and submit your record to the North East Bee Hunt portal on iRecord.You can submit your records here: https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/join/the-north-east-bee-hunt

Every record counts! Whether you live in Northumberland, Tyneside, Durham or Teesside. No matter the size of your garden, we’d love you to get involved.

For the purpose of this study, we have selected five target species but every bee record is important.