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

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.