UPDATE: The highly anticipated sixth annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble Bee-of-the-Year Contest kicks off just after midnight on January 1, 2026. The Bohart Museum of Entomology is inviting residents of Solano and Yolo counties to grab their cameras and be the first to capture an image or video of a bumble bee.
The contest officially opens at 12:01 a.m., and participants must submit their entries to the Bohart Museum via email at [email protected]. Winning submissions must include the date, time, and location of the sighting. The first verified entry will win a commemorative coffee cup featuring the endangered Franklin’s bumble bee, a species extensively studied by the late Robbin Thorp.
The contest, held in memory of Thorp—a globally recognized entomologist and emeritus professor at UC Davis—not only honors his legacy but also fosters community engagement with local biodiversity. Thorp passionately tracked the emergence of bumble bees, with the black-tailed bumble bee (Bombus melanopygus) typically being the first to appear in the region.
This year’s contest promises to be exciting, as past competitions have seen participation from both seasoned scientists and enthusiastic backyard naturalists. Last year, a tie occurred between Michael Kwong and Kaylen Teves, both of whom captured a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) at Glen Cove Marina on January 11, 2025.
In 2024, Fairfield’s Nancy Hansen set a record for the earliest sighting, photographing a black-tailed bumble bee in her yard at 10:57 a.m. on January 1. The inaugural contest in 2021 was won by Charlie Casey Nicholson, who spotted a black-tailed bumble bee on January 14.
The memory of Robbin Thorp, who passed away on June 7, 2019, at the age of 85, is central to this event. His legacy inspires participants to appreciate and document local wildlife, reminding everyone that even small observations contribute to greater biodiversity awareness.
As the countdown to the New Year begins, enthusiasts are encouraged to prepare for this unique challenge and celebrate the arrival of spring through the lens of their cameras. With the excitement building, who will spot the first bumble bee of 2026? Stay tuned for updates on this thrilling contest!