EIDC
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme

Flower-insect timed count data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, 2017-2020

https://doi.org/10.5285/61b7df6e-4e27-460a-84a5-c100f0dc919f Cite this dataset
This dataset contains information on the location of the count, some environmental variables, and the number of insects of each type counted for the Flower-Insect Timed (FIT) Count survey as part of the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS). It covers the years 2017 to 2020 (note that 2017 was a pilot year and has less data than subsequent years).

The “public” FIT Count asks volunteer citizen scientists to count the number of insects, identified into broad taxon groups, seen landing on the flowers of a particular target plant within a 50 cm × 50 cm quadrat during a period of ten minutes.

The “1 km square” FIT Count uses the same methodology, but is carried out by PoMS volunteers and staff as part of the PoMS 1 km square survey, which takes place within a randomly allocated set of 1 km squares in England, Scotland and Wales, and also gathers data on pan-trapped insects.

The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme is a partnership between the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, Hymettus, Natural History Museum, University of Reading and University of Leeds, working with the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society, wider stakeholders and volunteer networks. PoMS is jointly funded by Defra, the Welsh and Scottish Governments, JNCC and project partners.
Publication date: 2022-08-19

Format

Comma-separated values (CSV)

Spatial information

Study area
Spatial representation type
Tabular (text)
Spatial reference system
OSGB 1936 / British National Grid

Temporal information

Temporal extent
2017-04-01    to    2020-09-30

Provenance & quality

Public FIT Counts are carried out at locations and dates chosen by the participants, at any time when weather conditions are suitable between 1 April and 30 September each year. A set of 14 target flower types is provided, but participants are free to choose a different flower if a target species is not available. Guidance is provided to participants on how to select a suitable location and position a quadrat, and on how to identify the insect group categories when counting visiting insects.

One km square FIT Counts follow the same methodology for the ten-minute count, but take place in up to 75 1 km squares, during four visits each summer, aiming for one visit in each month from May to August. There will be gaps in the data where a square cannot be visited during a particular year or month.

Data is entered using online forms that promote consistency in data formats. QA checks are carried out on any photos provided of the target flowers, and these are corrected where the original identification is not correct. Participants can optionally add photos to show examples of the insect groups that they have seen and counted, although these photos should not be taken during the count itself (so as to avoid disturbing visiting insects) so cannot be corrected in the same way.

Supplemental information

UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme

Correspondence/contact details

UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg
Lancaster
Lancashire
LA1 4AP
UNITED KINGDOM
 enquiries@ceh.ac.uk

Author

UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Other contacts

Rights holders
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, Hymettus, Natural History Museum, University of Reading, University of Leeds, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Welsh Government, Scottish Government, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk
Publisher
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
 info@eidc.ac.uk

Additional metadata

Topic categories
biota
INSPIRE theme
Habitats and Biotopes
Keywords
citizen science , insect , Monitoring , Pollinators , Pollinators
Funding
Natural Environment Research Council Award: NE/R016429/1
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Welsh Government
Scottish Government
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA, Northern Ireland)
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)
Last updated
08 February 2024 17:25

Get the data

THIS DATASET HAS BEEN SUPERSEDED. The latest version is Flower-insect timed count data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, 2017-2020 version 2

This resource has been withdrawn due to the discovery of duplicate data rows, which have been deduplicated in version 2.

If you need access to this archived version, please contact the EIDC

CITE AS: UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (2022). Flower-insect timed count data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, 2017-2020. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/61b7df6e-4e27-460a-84a5-c100f0dc919f

The following acknowledgement is required for use of this dataset: The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) is funded by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra, England), Welsh Government, Scottish Government, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA, Northern Ireland), Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). UKCEH’s contribution is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. PoMS is indebted to the many volunteers who carry out surveys and contribute data to the scheme.