A local group dedicated to the protection of Newfoundland and Labrador’s bee population has joined a special collaborative project to track bumble bees across North America, and is encouraging others to do the same.

The NL Beekeeping Association has joined up with ‘Bumble Bee Watch’ – an online database that tracks information on bees through user input.

Registered members can upload photos of bees to the online database, where they can be identified by experts, and users can learn about the insects, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts.

Association President Catherine Dempsey says there’s currently no baseline data that would allow experts to monitor trends in the local bumble bee population. They’re hoping that ‘Bumble Bee Watch’ will facilitate such a database to aid the work of researchers.

Dempsey says pollinators—such as bees—are vital to the world’s food supply. While the local population is believed to be in decent shape, Dempster says numbers are in serious decline across North America.

Find more information at the NL Beekeeping Association’s website or at BumbleBeeWatch.org .