Flower-insect timed count data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, 2017-2021
Download/Access
This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
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 across the UK, and also gathers data on pan-trapped insects (see separate dataset). In 2017-2020 the 1 km square survey took place in England, Scotland and Wales only; from 2021 the survey has full UK coverage, but with limited data from Northern Ireland in 2021 which was a pilot year for that country.
UK PoMS is coordinated by UKCEH, with involvement from the following partners: Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, Buglife, Hymettus, Natural History Museum, the University of Reading and University of Leeds, and working with recording schemes and societies.
UKPoMS is advised and supported by a Steering Group, involving UKCEH, JNCC, DAERA, Defra, NatureScot, Welsh Government, All-Ireland Pollinators Plan, and SASA.
Format
Comma-separated values (CSV)
Spatial information
Temporal information
Provenance & quality
One km square FIT Counts follow the same methodology for the ten-minute count, but take place in up to 95 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.
Licensing and constraints
This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
The following acknowledgement is required for use of this dataset: The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) is a partnership funded jointly by UKCEH and JNCC (through funding from Defra, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, and DAERA). 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. Between 2017 and 2021, PoMS was funded by UKCEH and Defra (England), Welsh Government, Scottish Government, DAERA (Northern Ireland), and JNCC. PoMS is indebted to the many volunteers who carry out surveys and contribute data to the scheme.
Related
This dataset is included in the following collections
Correspondence/contact details
Wallingford
Oxfordshire
OX10 8BB
UNITED KINGDOM
Author
Other contacts
Additional metadata
Welsh Government
Scottish Government
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Natural Environment Research Council Award: NE/R016429/1