Can I catch bees? A guide to Washington State regulations

Connie Mehmel walks through Ponderosa savannah looking for native bees. She is a permitted member of the Washington Bee Atlas (WaBA).

The focus of this blog is on the topic of “take” (collecting) as it applies to wildlife species, including bees and other insects, with the primary focus on our Washington state laws.

“Take”, without a qualifier, signifies “laying hands on” or controlling a wild creature. Here in Washington, insects including butterflies and native bees are defined as wildlife, so wildlife “take” rules must be considered.

Relative to wildlife, “take” is a legal term as defined by our state Legislature. If people kill and collect native bees or other insects without having a permit issued by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), under RCW 77.15.130 section (2), they may be committing a misdemeanor. As defined in WAC 220-200-150: To legally collect insects in Washington, one must first receive a Scientific Collecting Permit (SCP) from WDFW.

Not all “take” is the same. That is the focus of this article. Some level of “catch and release” take of insects is permitted for temporary educational purposes—in appropriate areas. Some land owners such as National Parks and Washington State Parks have “zero” take policy allowed on their lands without explicit permits and written permission. When collecting and killing insects for research purposes, such as the state Bee Atlas, a SCP is needed in addition to consent from the landowner.

No-Take

“No-Take” (no contact) occurs when only indirect interactions are allowed with wildlife. National Parks are examples of No-Take areas (at least without a park research permit). People are allowed to view and photograph individual animals (e.g., mountain goats, bumble bees, butterflies) but without touching or otherwise interfering with the animal in its natural environment. If you walk around a national park with a butterfly net and no permit you will find yourself speaking to a park ranger in short order.

Other public and private lands can be insect “No-Take” (no touch) areas as well. As an example, State Parks are “No Take” in the absence of a research permit issued by Washington State Parks. It is always important to understand and follow the expectations of the landowner.

In our native bee community, folks photograph and post pictures of native bees to iNaturalist and Instagram, helping document natural history such as where and when, as well as potential plant interactions.

An “important to be aware” type of No-Take happens when one encounters a state or federally listed species of concern. Washington has several listed butterfly species of concern. The USFWS is proposing endangered species designation and associated regulations for Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee, with other bumble bee species also of state and federal concern, such as the Western bumble bee.

Morrison's bumble bee are an intense yellow without a black spot or bar between shoulders.

White-bottomed Western bumble bees disappeared in 1990s but seem to be making a comeback.

Suckley's cuckoo bumble bees are very rare because their host, the Western bumble bees, disappeared.

Morrison's, Western, and Suckley's bumble bees were classified as "of concern" by Xerces following the search conducted by the PNW Bumble Bee Atlas Project. All three species fall under the "No-Take" category, where only photography is permitted.

In the absence of a state or federal research permit, all sensitive species are in NO TAKE status. If you are in doubt, don’t catch it. If you can’t separate sensitive bumble bee species from others, capture data with photographs or other “no take” approaches.

Transitory Holding

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife does not require a SCP for temporary handling of insects. According to WAC 220-200-150, “Collect [or take] does not include transitory holding of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates solely for identification purposes.”

In Washington, we often see transitory holding occurring on butterfly fieldtrips, when an individual butterfly is captured to provide an opportunity to study the associated field marks up close and able to be discussed with others. Once folks have observed the field characteristics, it is released promptly where it was captured. WDFW allows transitory holding of wildlife for identification purposes such as this.

Ingrid Carmean collected and chilled bees for participants of a Bee Walk led by Kris Ethington, sponsored by the Friends of Fort Flagler. They were able to hold native bees to study and photograph before the insects warmed and flew away.

Another example is with reptiles. Here in my neck of the woods we have several species of garter snake that are similar in appearance. An early step in identifying a garter snake in the field is to count the number of upper labials (scales above the jaw). This reduces the choices moving forward. Once identified, the snake is released unharmed.

Lethal Take

When studying wildlife, sometimes lethal take of an individual is required for accurate identification or other needed data. This is particularly true when studying very small insects like many of our native bees. Photographs of most native bees cannot provide a definitive identification to species as many of the needed “field marks” are best viewed under a microscope-- or may even require DNA analysis.

This tiny red-bottomed bee (on the right), Washington's first Biastes fulviventris, presents an example when lethal take is required for bee identification. It was able to hide among several very similar Sphecodes bees (pictured left) collected the same day, until it was pinned and examined under a microscope. Unlike Sphecodes, Biastes has two triangular points at the end of its abdomen.

Lethal take provides a lot of secondary data—such as what pollen is being collected by native bees to feed their young, what viruses and other gut

inhabitants are present, and the types and levels of contaminant loads.

Under Washington State laws, lethal take or collection of insects for research purposes can only occur with a Scientific Collection Permit (SCP) issued by WDFW. Information on SPC’s can be found at Scientific Collection Permits.

Can “No-Take” replace “Lethal Take” in the WA Bee Atlas?

The short answer is NO.

A recent article published in the July 2024 Annals of the Entomological Society of America makes this clear. The paper is titled Bee monitoring by community scientists: comparing a collections-based program with iNaturalist.

Their two-year long study found “At state and county levels, we found collections data documented over twice as much biodiversity and novel baseline natural history data (state and county records) than data from iNaturalist. iNaturalist data showed strong biases toward large-bodied and non-native species.”

Summary

Many people are unwilling to partake in lethal take. There is nothing wrong and a whole lot right with that.

In the end, the appropriate type of “take” is dependent on why you are in the field. I personally get a lot of pleasure stalking wild bumble bees with a camera. I also like to ID the garter snakes I encounter.

Jane Abel uses a Sony a7RIV camera with a Sony FE 2.8/90 macro G OSS lens.

holds her Sony A7R5 with a Sony FE 2.8/90 macro lens. On cloudy days she needs a flash attachment.

Kylie McGuire used her iPhone with a clip-on VKAK 25X Macro Lens to take bee photos.

We have a diverse group of photographers who have contributed over 60,000 native bee observations. Here are three examples: Jane Abel uses a Sony a7RIV camera with a Sony FE 2.8/90 macro G OSS lens, but sometimes she uses an even larger Sony telephoto lens. Lisa Hill prefers a Sony A7R5 with a Sony FE 2.8/90 macro lens and a flash attachment for low-light conditions. Kylie McGuire leaned in over a fence to capture a photo using her phone with a VKAK 25X Macro clip-on lens.

I also strongly believe we need a comprehensive understanding of native bees in Washington state, including when and where adults are flying. Under a SCP issued by WDFW to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) for the Washington Bee Atlas, I collect native bees across Washington state. This is part of my contribution to helping document presence and timing of over 600+ species of native bees residing in our diverse state.

I engage in both types of “take” and transitory holding, each in the appropriate setting with the appropriate purpose and permissions.

I hope this helped clarify any questions around “Take” and “Collect” that you may have had.

If you have additional questions, please ask.

Thank you to Julie Combs and Chris Sato (WDFW) for their review and feedback to improve this article.