Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) Metro Area bee lawn assessments and bumble bee survey, 2023

Eighty residential lawns were recruited across the seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Area to take part in a survey of bumble bee species, vegetation and soil characteristics across lawns with differing management regimes. Lawns were selected to capture a range across the urban to rural gradient (based on percent of impervious surface) and household incomes and ethnicity at the Census block group level. Approximately half the lawns were characterized as "traditional" lawns, while half were considered "bee lawns" based on initial plant and bee community data. Three non-residential sites were included in this study: Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area, The Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History, the University of St. Thomas Stewardship Garden. The Bombus spp. composition was surveyed NON-LETHALLY at each site twice in the summer, with six endangered rusty-patched bumble bees (Bombus affinis) observed in 2023. Each property was also surveyed for plant species composition and soil moisture. Additional soil and site characteristics will accompany this dataset at a later date. Locations of the lawns are jittered randomly to protect the privacy of participating residents in the study.