Pollinators` count

[Bonobo]

Strange, but is taking a photo of a pollinating insect enough to conduct the national count? I have no idea how it is possible.

Great Pollinator Count kicks off
12.05.2016 15:50
Biologists from the University of Warsaw will count bees and other pollinating insects in Poland, with the financial support of Greenpeace.
Twenty research stations have been set up in five provinces as part of the Great Pollinator Count project.
“The project’s aim is to study if there are differences between Poland’s regions,” said biologist Maciej Ziemiański.
Funds for the project were raised in a successful crowdfunding campaign called ‘Adopt a Bee,’ organized by Greenpeace Poland.
There is no reliable data on the number of pollinating insects in Poland. It is known, however, that the number is falling.
Bees and other insects contribute to pollination in crops and gardens, helping at least 30 percent of the world's crop to grow.
Everyone can join the project: just take a photo of a bee and note the time and location it was spotted. The information can be submitted to the project’s website
- See more at: www.thenews.pl/1/11/Artykul/252530,Great-Pollinator-Count-kicks-off#sthash.3TM5P13e.dpuf

[jeanne]

May 13, 2016 21:31:37 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

Strange, but is taking a photo of a pollinating insect enough to conduct the national count? I have no idea how it is possible.

Well, one picture might not be enough, but if many people take pictures and note where and when it was taken, it can tell the scientists much about the pollinating insects!

I participate in a similar type of "citizen science" during the winter months when I observe and count birds at my feeders in my yard. People all over the U.S. and Canada do this and send the data to the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology for analysis. It's very useful information for those who study such things!

[Bonobo]

May 13, 2016 22:01:38 GMT 1 jeanne said:

May 13, 2016 21:31:37 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

Strange, but is taking a photo of a pollinating insect enough to conduct the national count? I have no idea how it is possible.

Well, one picture might not be enough, but if many people take pictures and note where and when it was taken, it can tell the scientists much about the pollinating insects!

I participate in a similar type of "citizen science" during the winter months when I observe and count birds at my feeders in my yard. People all over the U.S. and Canada do this and send the data to the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology for analysis. It's very useful information for those who study such things!

But birds are less numerous than pollinating insects.

It is just propaganda that you can count insects. Merely a good pretext to raise awareness, I suppose.

[jeanne]

May 13, 2016 22:08:10 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

May 13, 2016 22:01:38 GMT 1 jeanne said:

Well, one picture might not be enough, but if many people take pictures and note where and when it was taken, it can tell the scientists much about the pollinating insects!

I participate in a similar type of "citizen science" during the winter months when I observe and count birds at my feeders in my yard. People all over the U.S. and Canada do this and send the data to the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology for analysis. It's very useful information for those who study such things!

But birds are less numerous than pollinating insects.

It is just propaganda that you can count insects. Merely a good pretext to raise awareness, I suppose.

Hmmm...when we count birds, we are counting all species of birds. The insect count is just targeting pollinators, a very specific group, so I'm not so sure about your claim that it's a useless exercise!The majority of insects are not pollinators!

[Bonobo]

May 13, 2016 22:15:32 GMT 1 jeanne said:

May 13, 2016 22:08:10 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

But birds are less numerous than pollinating insects.

It is just propaganda that you can count insects. Merely a good pretext to raise awareness, I suppose.

Hmmm...when we count birds, we are counting all species of birds. The insect count is just targeting pollinators, a very specific group, so I'm not so sure about your claim that it's a useless exercise!The majority of insects are not pollinators!

Yes, most aren`t, but there are too many of those pollinators anyway and they are too tiny to notice and take photo of even a small fraction, let alone all.

PS. The Wiki article about Pollinator decline is only in 3 languages, including Polish.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollinator_decline

[jeanne]

May 13, 2016 22:38:39 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

May 13, 2016 22:15:32 GMT 1 jeanne said:

Hmmm...when we count birds, we are counting all species of birds. The insect count is just targeting pollinators, a very specific group, so I'm not so sure about your claim that it's a useless exercise!The majority of insects are not pollinators!

Yes, most aren`t, but there are too many of those pollinators anyway and they are too tiny to notice and take photo of even a small fraction, let alone all.

There's no doubt that pollinators, particularly honey bees are in crisis. I support all efforts, however small to help them recover! I'm a believer, not a skeptic!

PS. The Wiki article about Pollinator decline is only in 3 languages, including Polish.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollinator_decline

As it should be!