The Great Southeast Pollinator Census
is a multi-state citizen science project that was started by the University of Georgia in 2017 with 50 gardeners counting pollinator landings on plants. Since then, it has expanded to South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Last year, over 27,000 individual counters recorded over 500,000 insect landings. One of the goals of the Pollinator Census is to generate useful data so researchers can look for trends and see how pollinator populations are affected by weather and how honey bees influence native bee populations.
This year, the census takes place on August 21 and 22, and you can join in the fun! Just choose a pollinator plant and for fifteen minutes, record the number of times an insect lands on a tick sheet. You don’t have to know all the names of the bees and butterflies, just what category to put your pollinator under.
The Categories Are:
- Bumble bees
- Carpenter bees
- Honey bees
- Small bees
- Wasps
- Flies
- Butterflies/Moths
- Other
An insect on a Rio Pink Dipladenia at the Fifield Hall gardens. UF/IFAS Photo: Tyler Jones.
Insect ID Help is Available
If you aren’t sure how to tell the difference between a carpenter bee and a bumble bee, an easy-to-understand identification guide as well as the count sheet can be found online at the Great Southeast Pollinator Census website. https://gsepc.org/ This is also the website you will use to report your findings.
The Duval County Master Gardener Volunteers will be hosting Pollinator Census events all over Jacksonville both days. They will be sharing information about the Census as well as giving a short course in insect identification so you can be confident in your count. The learning session and the count should not take more than an hour. Most locations even have pollinator plants on-site so you can participate with their guidance. Kids are welcome to join the count too! To find a Census location near you, see the list below.
August 21
Garden Club of Jacksonville – 10:00am
- 1005 Riverside Ave.
Mandarin Garden Club – 9:30am
- 2892 Loretto Rd.
St Mary’s Episcopal Church Garden – 9:00am
- 1924 N Laura St.
Urban Demonstration Garden – 9:00am to noon
- 1032 Superior St.
Castaway Island Preserve– 4:00pm
- 2921 San Pablo Rd. S
August 22
Mandarin Garden Club – 9:30am
- 2892 Loretto Rd.
UNF Botanical Garden – 10:00am
- Student Union 1 UNF Drive
- Park in Garage 38 and meet at the Union at 9:45
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