Wild insects play a crucial role in pollinating crops, forests and gardens across Australia. Many people would recognise European honeybees as pollinators, but there are also thousands of pollinator species of native insects.
The annual Wild Pollinator Count gives residents the opportunity to contribute to a national database helping scientists understand the behaviour of all pollinator species. RiverConnect Project Officer Meg Pethybridge said a lot of research was still needed to identify all of the pollinator insect species, understand their ecology and how they are affected by human activities.
“Unfortunately there is not a lot of information on the ecology of many insects, what flowers they pollinate or where they are found,” she said.
“The Wild Pollinator Count provides locals with a chance to contribute to wild pollinator insect conservation in Australia. I encourage everyone to get involved and count the pollinator species which love to visit your backyard in Greater Shepparton.”
Ms Pethybridge said warm, sunny and calm days created the perfect environment for pollinators to visit.
“Pollinators are likely to visit the flowers in your backyard during the warm spring days so it is a perfect time to conduct the count,” she said.
“No special gear or expertise is needed to take part in this activity, just a keen set of eyes and an open flower in your backyard. This is a great activity for the whole family to get involved, learning to count and learn about insects, all while being on a great adventure in your own backyard.”
Locals are encouraged to become citizen scientists for the week and join pollinator enthusiasts across Greater Shepparton in counting local insects in 10-minute blocks across the eight days. There’s no limit on time of day or frequency of counts. For more information and to record your observations visit www.wildpollinatorcount.com
The Wild Pollinator Count website also has resources to help identify the insects visiting your garden and a printable tally sheet to assist with observations.
