There’s a big buzz about bees on the South Coast.
UC Santa Barbara is part of a big project involving 13 universities and museums to set up a huge online bee database for researchers, and the public.
The National Science Foundation awarded $3 million for the three-year project. The goal is put more than 1.3 million images of bee specimens online.
While there’s data and images online already, the idea is to create a comprehensive database, which doesn’t exist now. Creating an online library in a standardized format is expected to advance bee research. But, it will also be available for bee lovers who just want to learn more about the important insects.
