Cleaning Bumblebees & Bees in Preparation for Pinning

Here is an efficient way to thoroughly clean bumblebees and bees of excess pollen and nectar, using common household items such as dish soap, a salad spinner, and a hair dryer. This is adapted from the protocol of Sam Droege at the USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab. Thanks to Sam Droege for his very informative videos and instructions; Syd Cannings at Environment Canada for the contract; and Claudia Copley, Esme John, Joel Gibson, and Rob Cannings at the Royal BC Museum (Victoria, Canada) for all their help, training, materials, and facilities.