Pan trap survey data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, 2017-2023
https://doi.org/10.5285/5841bfae-471b-498c-af89-c30e5140d6c5
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This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
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The following acknowledgement is required for use of this dataset: The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (UK PoMS) is a partnership funded jointly by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) (through funding from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland). UKCEH's contribution is part-funded by the Natural Environment Research Council formerly as part of the UK-SCAPE programme (award NE/R016429/1) and now as part of the NC-UK programme (award NE/Y006208/1) 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.
This dataset contains samples and occurrences of insects and flowers collected for the 1 km square survey of the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS). It covers the years 2017 to 2023 (note that 2017 was a pilot year and has less data than subsequent years, and that the survey first became active in Northern Ireland in 2021, which was a pilot year in that country).
This survey uses pan traps positioned on transects within a randomly allocated set of 1 km squares across the UK. The sample data contains information on the location of the traps, various environmental variables, and the total number of insect specimens collected. The occurrence data for insects contains records of all hoverflies and bees from the traps, identified (wherever possible) to species level. The occurrence data for flowers contains records of all forbs that are in flower within 2 metres of each pan-trap station. (In addition, Flower-Insect Timed Counts are carried out in the same 1 km squares, see separate dataset for these data.)
UK PoMS is co-ordinated by UKCEH, with the following delivery partners up to 2023: the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, Buglife, Hymettus, Natural History Museum, the University of Reading and University of Leeds.
PoMS Steering Group members up to 2023 were JNCC, DAERA, Defra, NatureScot, Welsh Government, All-Ireland Pollinators Plan, Natural England, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, and National Biodiversity Network.
This survey uses pan traps positioned on transects within a randomly allocated set of 1 km squares across the UK. The sample data contains information on the location of the traps, various environmental variables, and the total number of insect specimens collected. The occurrence data for insects contains records of all hoverflies and bees from the traps, identified (wherever possible) to species level. The occurrence data for flowers contains records of all forbs that are in flower within 2 metres of each pan-trap station. (In addition, Flower-Insect Timed Counts are carried out in the same 1 km squares, see separate dataset for these data.)
UK PoMS is co-ordinated by UKCEH, with the following delivery partners up to 2023: the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, Buglife, Hymettus, Natural History Museum, the University of Reading and University of Leeds.
PoMS Steering Group members up to 2023 were JNCC, DAERA, Defra, NatureScot, Welsh Government, All-Ireland Pollinators Plan, Natural England, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, and National Biodiversity Network.
Publication date: 2026-06-22
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Format
Comma-separated values (CSV)
Spatial information
Study area
Spatial representation type
Triangular irregular network
Spatial reference system
OSGB 1936 / British National Grid
Spatial resolution
10 metres
Temporal information
Temporal extent
2017-01-01 to 2023-12-31
Provenance & quality
Data are collected by PoMS volunteers and staff from up to 95 1 km squares, during four visits each summer, aiming for one visit during suitable weather approximately every month from May to September. There will be gaps in the data where a square cannot be visited during a particular year or month. At each visit, five pan-traps are positioned in a transect across the 1 km square, and left in position for approx. six hours. The insects trapped are returned to the PoMS laboratory, where all insects are sorted into main taxonomic groupings and counted, and all bees and hoverflies are passed to taxonomic experts for identification to species level where possible.
Data is entered using online forms that promote consistency in data formats. QA checks are carried out on any photos provided that show plants in flower in the vicinity of the pan-traps; bee and hoverfly identifications are cross-checked by multiple taxonomists for all rare and apparently out-of-range occurrences, plus a random sample of other occurrences. The data is then processed through R to highlight and correct potential errors (the code for this is available in the metadata).
Martin Harvey is the PoMS co-ordinator at UKCEH and the first point of contact for queries via the poms@ceh.ac.uk email. Claire Carvell is the project manager for PoMS, also based at UKCEH Wallingford and responsible for strategic direction, overseeing delivery of the surveys, data management and reporting, and liaising with JNCC and other partners. Nadine Mitschunas leads the field team with Chris Andrews and Angus Garbutt, and Francesca Mancini leads on statistical analysis of PoMS data, with Robin Hutchinson working on data management and communications. Other UKCEH team members are Nick Isaac, Lucy Ridding, Marc Botham and Helen Roy, and our partners are represented by Richard Comont (BCT), Richard Fox and Megan Lowe (BC), Dawn Balmer and Rob Jaques (BTO), Rachel Richards and Jamie Robins (Buglife), Paul Lee and Rowan Edwards (Hymettus), Mike Garratt and Simon Potts (Reading University), Bill Kunin (Leeds University) and Alfried Vogler (Natural History Museum).
Data is entered using online forms that promote consistency in data formats. QA checks are carried out on any photos provided that show plants in flower in the vicinity of the pan-traps; bee and hoverfly identifications are cross-checked by multiple taxonomists for all rare and apparently out-of-range occurrences, plus a random sample of other occurrences. The data is then processed through R to highlight and correct potential errors (the code for this is available in the metadata).
Martin Harvey is the PoMS co-ordinator at UKCEH and the first point of contact for queries via the poms@ceh.ac.uk email. Claire Carvell is the project manager for PoMS, also based at UKCEH Wallingford and responsible for strategic direction, overseeing delivery of the surveys, data management and reporting, and liaising with JNCC and other partners. Nadine Mitschunas leads the field team with Chris Andrews and Angus Garbutt, and Francesca Mancini leads on statistical analysis of PoMS data, with Robin Hutchinson working on data management and communications. Other UKCEH team members are Nick Isaac, Lucy Ridding, Marc Botham and Helen Roy, and our partners are represented by Richard Comont (BCT), Richard Fox and Megan Lowe (BC), Dawn Balmer and Rob Jaques (BTO), Rachel Richards and Jamie Robins (Buglife), Paul Lee and Rowan Edwards (Hymettus), Mike Garratt and Simon Potts (Reading University), Bill Kunin (Leeds University) and Alfried Vogler (Natural History Museum).
Licensing and constraints
This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence 
Cite this dataset as:
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (2026). Pan trap survey data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme, 2017-2023. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/5841bfae-471b-498c-af89-c30e5140d6c5
The following acknowledgement is required for use of this dataset: The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (UK PoMS) is a partnership funded jointly by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) (through funding from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland). UKCEH's contribution is part-funded by the Natural Environment Research Council formerly as part of the UK-SCAPE programme (award NE/R016429/1) and now as part of the NC-UK programme (award NE/Y006208/1) 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
Other contacts
Publisher
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk
Rights holder
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Rights holder
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk
Additional metadata
Keywords
Funding
Natural Environment Research Council Award: NE/Y006208/1
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Scottish Government
Welsh Government
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
Scottish Government
Welsh Government
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology