During November, NACC NRM joined volunteers from the Perenjori Community Garden to take part in the Wild Pollinator Count – a great way to see what insects you have in your backyard and an opportunity to contribute to wild pollinator insect conservation in Australia.
The Wild Pollinator Count is a citizen science project that aims to increase information about Australia’s wild pollinators – many (especially our native insects) contribute to pollination in crops and gardens all around the country yet are often overlooked.
And we still need to do a lot of research to identify all our pollinator insect species, understand their ecology and how they are affected by human activities.
During the ten minute surveys – and despite the windy conditions – Perenjori citizen scientists observed blue-banded bees, honey bees, ants, wasps, hoverflies, ladybirds, moths, and plenty of bushflies!
Local event organizer and NACC NRM Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator Lizzie King said that it was interesting to see how different insects preferred different flowers in the garden.
She added that “insects provide important ecosystem services, both as pollinators and as a vital part of the food web.”
“Therefore NACC NRM does recommend following Integrated Pest management principles when considering pest control to minimize unnecessary insect control.”
The Wild Pollinator Count takes place twice a year, in April and November, with dates advertised on the website, (www.wildpollinatorcount.com). So far, we know that Australia has around 2,000 native bee species, all of which are important pollinators. We also know there are a couple of thousand butterfly, wasp, fly, moth, beetle, thrips and ant species, some of which are documented pollinators. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of information on the ecology of many of these insects, what flowers they pollinate, or where they are found.
For more information or to help organize a Wild Pollinator Count in your area, please contact our NACC NRM Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitators: Lizzie King (E) lizzie.king@nacc.com.au (P) 0447 361335 or Annabelle Garratt (E) Annabelle.garratt@nacc.com.au (P) 0448 986 879
Information Source: https://wildpollinatorcount.com/