Photo: Wendy Caldwell
This week we celebrate National Pollinator Week, in honor of the bees, butterflies, beetles, and other animals that provide essential services to ecosystems and agricultural lands everywhere.
Citizen science is at the forefront of pollinator research, and below we highlight six projects that you can join to help study and protect pollinators. To find more, visit the SciStarter Global Project Finder.
Cheers!
The SciStarter Team
Photo: Johanna James-Heinz
BeeSpotter
If you're in Illinois, Missouri, or Ohio, your help is needed to study bee populations there. Just take pictures of any bees you see and upload them to the project website.
Photo: Wendy Caldwell
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
With the monarch population in decline, volunteers across North America are needed to monitor monarch habitats for the presence of eggs, larvae, and pupae. This information is then used to inform monarch conservation.
Photo: USFWS
Great Sunflower Project
How do pesticides impact pollinators? What plants are important for maintaining pollinator populations? How do urban green spaces contribute to pollinators? Help answer these questions and more with the Great Sunflower Project.
Photo: BAMONA
BAMONA
Butterflies and Moths of North American (BAMONA) maintains a database of butterfly and moth sightings across the continent. Contribute your sightings today!
Photo: Rich Hatfield
Bumble Bee Watch
Bumble bees are key pollinators in North America. When you see a bumble bee, snap a photo and post it to the project website. It's ok if you can't identify the bee species; project experts help with identification.
Photo: Australian Museum
DigiVol
If you can't make it outside to study pollinators, you can help from your computer! With DigiVol, you can transcribe museum and research records on all sorts of species, including pollinators.
National Moth Week begins July 23. Find out how you can participate here. BeeSpotter is hosting a BeeBlitz onSaturday, June 25. Photograph bees in Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio, and upload them to the project website to participate. Read more here.
Secchi Dip-In 2016 measures water quality throughout July. Find out more here.
Want to learn more about the field of citizen science? Check out this new book on Amazon!
