Global Pollinator Watch AIG 2022​'s Boletim

07 de julho de 2023

Join us for National Moth Week, 2023!

Dear Observers,

Thank you for your continued commitment to learning about and increasing the scientific understanding of insect pollinators through data collection in your communities around the world! We’re glad to see your ongoing contribution of photographs – documenting this project’s four target Taxa: Coleoptera (Beetles), Diptera (Flies), Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies), and Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths).

While we encourage you to continue making observations of all of these groups of insects, this month we are focusing on one Taxa in particular, Lepidoptera.

Specifically, the largest group of Lepidopterans, moths. With over 150,000 estimated species of moths worldwide, moths greatly outnumber the diversity of butterflies on the planet, with only ~17,500 estimated species of butterflies (https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/moths).

From July 22 – 30, we hope that you will join us in celebrating National Moth Week – an annual initiative focused on the conservation of these important and often undervalued organisms.

We encourage you to contribute observations of these vital pollinators to this project on iNaturalist. Please also read the following resources to learn more about moths and National Moth Week.

  1. Learn more about National Moth Week here: https://nationalmothweek.org/
  2. National Moth Week FAQs: https://nationalmothweek.org/frequently-asked-questions/
  3. Read more about Moths: https://xerces.org/blog/moths-are-cool-too
  4. Consider joining Project PorchLight on iNaturalist, to help document nocturnal insects, including moths: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/project-porchlight

Thank you again for your participation!
The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 07 de julho de 2023, 09:04 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

16 de junho de 2023

Celebrate Pollinator Week, 2023!

Dear AIG Observers,

With the warm weather in full swing here in the Northern Hemisphere, pollinators are abuzz with activity! We hope that as you spend time outside, you take notice of your local insect pollinators (and snap a photo for the Global Pollinator Watch project)!

Please also join us next week in celebrating Pollinator Week 2023 (June 19 – 25)! This annual, weeklong initiative hosted and maintained by Pollinator Partnership seeks to recognize the importance of pollinators and educate members of the public on how to protect and conserve them.

This year’s theme is Pollinators and Climate Change – highlighting the impacts of a changing climate on pollinator health and survival, while also noting that pollinator conservation can be a tool to combat the climate crisis. We hope that you will join a local or virtual event, consider ways that you can protect pollinators in your daily life, or educate your friends, family, and community about the importance of pollinators. Please check out the Pollinator Partnership website to learn more about Pollinator Week and how you can support insect pollinators: https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week

One simple action you can take is to continue to contribute to this Global Pollinator Watch project on iNaturalist. Your observations of insect pollinators provide essential data for Earthwatch scientists to better understand pollinator presence and diversity around the world.

We also encourage you to the Pollinator Week Toolkit for resources on how to take action: https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week/toolkit

Thank you for your ongoing contributions!
The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 16 de junho de 2023, 03:14 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

15 de maio de 2023

Bee a Friend to Pollinators! World Bee Day 2023

Dear AIG Observers,

Join us on May 20th in celebrating World Bee Day and participate in an international effort to raise awareness about the importance of bees and other insect pollinators!

While bees do the essential work of pollination – carrying pollen between flowering plants and assisting in these plants’ reproduction – the act of pollination has beneficial side effects which humans depend upon, including contributing to crop production and other critical ecosystem services. Despite our dependence upon bees, human activity is driving bee population decline and extinction, threatening ecosystem health and stability, and as a result, our own health, livelihoods, and food security.

World Bee Day emphasizes the role that we can all play to support and conserve the 20,000 different species of bees that share our planet and sustain our quality of life.

One critical action that you can take is contributing Research Grade observations of bees and other insect pollinators to Earthwatch’s Global Pollinator Watch project. By contributing these observations of the insect pollinators that you encounter in your community, you are providing scientists and decision makers around the world with the data they need to assess the presence and diversity of pollinator populations and to make the important conservation management decisions that will support the long-term stability of these insects.

To learn more about World Bee Day and the actions that you can take, check out these resources:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO) World Bee Day: https://www.fao.org/world-bee-day/en

UN-FAO World Bee Day Action Guide: https://www.fao.org/3/cc5759en/cc5759en.pdf

United Nations World Bee Day: https://www.un.org/en/observances/bee-day

Thank you!
The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 15 de maio de 2023, 08:34 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

21 de abril de 2023

Happy Earth Day 2023!

Dear AIG Observers,

Happy Earth Day! On this annual celebration of the planet that we all call home, we come together to take action for environmental protection and conservation.

One powerful action you can take this Earth Day is conserving insect pollinators – the little organisms that are responsible for providing critical ecosystem services that many of us take for granted every day.

According to Pollinator Partnership, more than 1,200 crops are dependent on pollinators, with 1 in every 3 bites of food that we ingest relying on the services that pollinators provide. In addition to these direct human-derived benefits, pollinators play a key role in sustaining life on Earth for the other, non-human life that we coexist with. Despite this, human-behavior is a key driver of pollinator decline, through habitat loss and degradation, destructive landscaping practices (including the use of pesticides and herbicides), and as a consequence of climate change.

As we celebrate our home planet this Earth Day – we encourage you to consider the following actions to help support healthy pollinator populations!

  1. Contribute data to this Global Pollinator Watch project on iNaturalist and help Earthwatch scientists to better understand pollinator presence and diversity in your community.
  2. Foster a healthy ecosystem by planting native species and avoiding the use of pesticides and herbicides.
  3. Build a bee house for your local wild bee populations.
  4. Educate your friends, family, and community members about pollinator decline and the important role that insect pollinators play in contributing to a healthy planet.

Check-out the following resources to learn more about how you can take action for pollinators this Earth Day (and every day)!

  1. https://earthwatch.org/stories/six-ways-support-pollinators
  2. https://www.pollinator.org/earth-day-toolkit
  3. https://xerces.org/events

Thank you!
The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 21 de abril de 2023, 06:03 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

23 de março de 2023

Consider Planting Native this Year!

Dear AIG Observers,

Thank you all for your ongoing participation in Global Pollinator Watch! As the weather warms and winter subsides here in much of the Northern Hemisphere – we look forward to seeing your observations of the insect pollinators that you encounter in the natural spaces where you live, work, and recreate.

With the snow beginning to melt and the warmer weather approaching, in addition to making new observations of insect pollinators, we encourage you to consider how landscaping impacts pollinator health. As many people start to think about their yards and lawns, or even the window flowerboxes in their apartments – planting species native to your local ecoregion can go a long way to support pollinators. Planting native, pollinator-friendly plants can both increase pollinator activity and support healthy pollinator populations – ensuring that local pollinator species are able to carry out their critical services effectively. While pollinators, by definition, visit flowers, many species of pollinators- particularly the larval stages of butterflies and moths (caterpillars)- rely on very specific host plants that may have nothing to do with the flowers they will visit as adults. Thinking about all the life stages for pollinators is an important step in managing your natural spaces for healthy pollinator communities.

Check out this Ecoregion Planting Guide created by Pollinator Partnership, to find the plant species native to where you live: https://www.pollinator.org/guides#about

For those of you with a lawn, another important step you can take to create a pollinator-friendly habitat is to avoid the use of pesticides. By eliminating the use of herbicides and insecticides in your lawn or garden – you are taking an active step to prevent the loss of vital pollinator species.

Learn more about six ways that you can support pollinators here: https://earthwatch.org/stories/sixt-ways-support-pollinators

Thank you!
The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 23 de março de 2023, 02:59 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

13 de fevereiro de 2023

Additional Opportunities to Support Pollinator Research

Dear AIG Team,

Thank you for your continued contributions to the Global Pollinator Watch project! Through your efforts, we are kicking-off 2023 on the right foot with 442 observations, of which 72% are research grade – those observations which are most valuable for scientific research and conservation. We encourage you to continue contributing your high-quality insect pollinator observations, and as the weather warms in the Northern Hemisphere, we hope even more of you will head back outside to observe pollinators in your communities.

In addition to Global Pollinator Watch, Earthwatch scientists are supporting pollinator research and conservation around the world. These scientists rely on volunteer “citizen scientists” to support their research, collect valuable data, and help in protecting pollinator species. In addition to directing their own pollinator research in the field, these Earthwatch scientists support Global Pollinator Watch, as members of the Global Pollinator Watch science advisory team. Keep reading to learn more about their research below.

Jackie Grant, Ph.D. and Associate Professor of Biology at Southern Utah University is studying pollinator and plant interactions in Utah on her project, “Cracking the Code: the Mysteries of Native Bees in Utah”. With a changing ecosystem in Southern Utah and the introduction of non-native species of Bees, Dr. Grant is working to build a database of native bee genetics in one of the planet's "bee diversity hotspots”. Dr. Grant's research is helping decision makers and scientists to better understand pollinator-plant interactions as they make conservation management decisions.

You can read more about her research here: https://earthwatch.org/expeditions/cracking-code-mysteries-native-bees-utah

Lee Dyer, Ph.D. and Professor of Biology at the University of Nevada Reno and his team are researching caterpillar biodiversity in the tropical rain forests of Costa Rica on his project, “Tracking Caterpillars in Tropical Forests”. To help preserve caterpillar populations and ecosystem stability – Dr. Dyer is studying the complex relationships between caterpillars, the plants they eat, and the parasitoids that eat them, as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and shifts in phenology impact the health and diversity of these pollinator species.

You can read more about his research here: https://earthwatch.org/expeditions/tracking-caterpillars-tropical-forests

Dr. Valerie Peters, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Biology at Eastern Kentucky University is working to better understand how to protect pollinators and the ecosystem services that they provide amidst a changing climate and the loss of natural habitat on her project, “Conserving Wild Bees and Other Pollinators of Costa Rica”. Recognizing that humans derive significant benefits from pollinator services, namely the fact that three-quarters of the worlds’ crops depend on pollinators – Dr. Peters is studying how to mitigate the loss of pollinator populations and provide livelihoods for people, as pollinator populations are threatened in Costa Rica and worldwide.

You can read more about her research here: https://earthwatch.org/expeditions/conserving-wild-bees-and-other-pollinators-of-costa-rica

Posted on 13 de fevereiro de 2023, 06:25 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

05 de janeiro de 2023

Observing Pollinators in the Southern Hemisphere Summer

Wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy new year! Thank you all for your support and valuable contributions to pollinator conservation in 2022! We are excited to see the insect pollinators that you observe in 2023 and to continue to work together to create a healthier planet!

While many of us in the Northern Hemisphere prepare for snow, for those who live in the Southern Hemisphere and in the tropics, the summer season is here! As the temperature rises, insect pollinator activity increases. We encourage you to get outside and find areas of nature where you live, whether that is your backyard, a local park, green space at your office, flowering plants on your commute to work, or even a window planter-box. Where there are flowering plants, if you look closely, there may be insect pollinators too! Take a moment to snap a few photos and contribute your observation to this Global Pollinator Watch project page. Every observation makes a difference and helps scientists to better understand the presence, diversity, and phenology of pollinators worldwide.

For those experiencing colder months where pollinator activity has declined, you can still help pollinators by taking some time to learn about pollinator health and conservation.

Check out this webinar with Earthwatch scientists, Dr. Valerie Peters and Dr. Jackie Grant who study pollinator conservation in Costa Rica and Utah, respectively: https://earthwatch.org/science-matters-webinar-series/pollinators.

Thank you for your continued support in this new year!

The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 05 de janeiro de 2023, 03:22 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

14 de novembro de 2022

Pollinator Conservation Actions for Winter

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere or in the tropics, along the equator – we encourage you to spend time outside observing insect pollinators, as the warm weather this time of year is prime season for pollinator activity.

However, with colder weather approaching in the Northern Hemisphere – we hope you will consider pollinator conservation actions you can take in the winter.

One important step you can take is creating and preserving nesting sites for bees in the outdoor spaces where you live. According to the Xerces Society, a leading insect conservation organization “the availability of nesting and overwintering habitats is one of the most important factors influencing populations of native bees and other beneficial insects”. While many traditional landscaping practices encourage the removal of dead flower stalks and leaves – cavities in these plants provide critical shelter for some insect pollinators during the cold winter months.

While your observation of pollinators may decline over the coming winter months, there are still actions you can take to ensure healthy pollinator populations.

Learn more from the Xerces Society about their Save the Stems initiative and pollinator friendly landscaping practices here: https://www.xerces.org/publications/brochures/save-the-stems

Please also continue contributing observations to the Global Pollinator Watch project! Your observations provide important data about pollinator presence, diversity, and phenology (seasonal and climate-related behavior).

All the best!
The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 14 de novembro de 2022, 07:10 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

07 de novembro de 2022

Global Pollinator Watch with AIG - Project Re-Opened!

Dear AIG Team,

Thank you all for your continued participation in the Global Pollinator Watch AIG, 2022 project on iNaturalist. We have enjoyed viewing your beautiful photos of insect pollinators around the globe and your contributions offer valuable data points to help better understand pollinator presence and diversity.

Last week, we hosted a Data and Action Webinar to share the results from the first five months of data collection, as well as actions you can take to support pollinators in your communities. Through October 1st, you had contributed over 400 observations which were over 70% research grade – the highest quality for use in scientific research. We encourage you to continue adding observations!

In addition to adding new observations to this project, please consider pollinator-friendly conservation actions you can undertake in your day-to-day life.

Find additional Pollinator conservation resources here:
Six Ways to Support Pollinators | Earthwatch | https://earthwatch.org/stories/six-ways-support-pollinators
Pollinator Conservation Program | Xerces Society | https://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation

Thank you again for your participation!
The Global Pollinator Watch Team

Posted on 07 de novembro de 2022, 08:20 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

22 de julho de 2022

Celebrate National Moth Week, 2022!

Thank you all for your continued participation in Global Pollinator Watch with AIG! We hope that you will join us this week in observing National Moth Week from July 23-31, 2022.

This week is an opportunity to discover the diversity of moths and their important contributions to ecosystems and ecosystem services – including as insect pollinators. In fact, moths are one of the largest groups of insect pollinators, outnumbering butterfly species 14:1!

We hope you take some time this week to read more about Lepidoptera (the order of insects including moths and butterflies), and of course, make observations of moths (and other insect pollinators)!

If you want to learn more about moths and mothing, here is a great list of resources curated by the National Moth Week team: https://nationalmothweek.org/resources-new-page/

Read more about National Moth Week here: https://nationalmothweek.org/about/

Posted on 22 de julho de 2022, 01:35 PM by apins apins | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário