Curious about the diversity of pollinators on your farm? Want to know if wild bees are abundant in your orchard blocks? There’s an app for that!

WiBee (pronounced We-bee) is a smartphone app developed by the Gratton Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that allows growers and interested community members to collect high-quality data on wild bee abundance and diversity on farm, as well as non-crop habitats. This project collaborates with the Northeast Pollinator Partnership for anyone who has used the NEPP Bee Count App in previous years.

This app is available on App Store or Google Play.

The interactive guide helps you easily identify and distinguish native bees from honeybees while the actual assessment takes only three 5-minute observations per orchard block. An easy-to-follow protocol on how to collect high-quality data is included.

All information is kept confidential.

Why is on-farm bee data important?

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• -  Bee diversity is a good predictor of pollination services, seed set and fruit set in apples.
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• -  Not all cultivars are equally attractive to all pollinators.
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• -  Wild bees are: 
  •  -  More successful at pollen transfer than honeybees and have greater “pollen purity” (preference for pollen sources).
  •  -  Primarily after pollen to feed their young, whereas foraging honeybees often visit apples for nectar.
  •  -  Influencers of honeybee behaviour and movement between rows.
  •  -  More tolerant of adverse weather 

The information gathered could be helpful in determining pollination service needs or identifying areas on your farm that could be enhanced to promote or encourage wild bee activity.

Link to YouTube video here: https://www.northeastpollinatorpartnership.org/

Source:  ONCore May 8, 2025 newsletter