The green veined white butterfly (Pieris napi) is a butterfly and belongs to the white butterfly family (Pieridae). It is common throughout Europe and as the species flies in three to four overlapping generations per year, it can be seen from March to October. \u00a9Ulrike Sch\u00e4fer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhat potential issues may arise from this monitoring system?<\/h3>\n However, Scientists have noted that Europe\u2019s flowers are by no means pollinated exclusively by butterflies; other groups of insects, such as bees and hoverflies, play a much greater role in this respect.<\/p>\n
Therefore, researchers have had to consider: what minimum amount of each insect needs to be recorded in order to obtain meaningful data on pollinators? Which methods are suitable for this? What is the minimum area that needs to be examined? And what will the entire project cost? \u201cIn order to better assess all this, we will develop and test a foundation programme for meaningful monitoring as part of the project,\u201d noted David Roy.<\/p>\n
How will researchers negate these concerns?<\/h3>\n In up to 24 test areas per country, project staff will use a variety of standard methods to assess the diversity and abundance of pollinators. Similar to butterfly monitoring, volunteers will also count wild bees and hoverflies on specified routes. In tandem, the diversity of pollinators will be assessed using various insect traps. \u201cBased on our experiences, we will develop recommendations on how the individual countries can best continue their monitoring,\u201d added the UKCEH researcher.<\/p>\n
However, in order for this to be successful, the pollinator census needs sufficient qualified supporters. \u201cAnyone who knows of initiatives that are already involved in recording pollinating insects is welcome to contact us,” said Settele.<\/p>\n
Based on his previous experiences with butterfly monitoring, Settele is optimistic that amateurs can learn to distinguish some of the species with some basic training and a little practice. However, for other pollinating insect species this is much more challenging. For instance, in Germany alone there are approximately 560 species of wild bees, and just a handful of people can confidently identify most of these species.<\/p>\n
In order to assist people in confidently identifying these different species, the project team will offer online materials and training courses on bee and hoverfly identification. There are also plans for an app that can assign the correct name to some of the insects via image recognition.<\/p>\n
What other approaches in SPRING are being tested?<\/h3>\n Additionally, as well as expanding butterfly monitoring and testing the core programme, SPRING also has a number of other approaches being examined. For example, the Netherlands has started an initiative that will use a combination of simple traps and sophisticated image recognition technology to track moths. \u201cWe also want to test this in Germany with the active participation of the public,\u201d said Settele. \u201cOur Dutch neighbours have already had good initial experiences with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
After completion of the SPRING project, Europe will then for the first time have the ability to gain a full overview of the status of its pollinating heroes. \u201cWe hope that we can persuade most European states to carry out such monitoring,\u201d concluded Settele. \u201cThis is the only way we can start to assess where we are doing well in terms of pollinator protection and where we need to work harder.\u201d<\/p>\n
To keep up to date with our content,\u00a0subscribe for updates<\/a>\u00a0on our digital publication and newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To meet the goals laid out in the SPRING project, a collaborative research team consisting of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), has established an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinators. What is the SPRING project? A new EU-funded project called \u2018Strengthening Pollinator Recovery through Indicators […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":19657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24433,785],"tags":[3475,689],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
The SPRING project: An EU-wide monitoring system for pollinators<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n