The pollinator project partners are encouraging members of the public to help collect much-needed data in order to establish how insect pollinator populations are faring across the Channel Islands. This page provides details of pollinator monitoring schemes that are currently active in the Channel Islands. Data from these surveys and recording schemes are analysed to determine key metrics on pollinator population status and trends.
The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme Flower-Insect Timed Counts (FIT Counts)
If you can spare 10 – 15 minutes to sit and watch insects visiting flowers why not carry out a FIT Count? This simple survey collects data on the total number of insects that visit flowers of particular target plant species. FIT Counts can be carried out anywhere, including gardens and parks, in warm, dry weather any time from April to September. If you can carry out several counts at one location during that time you will be adding extra value to your survey records.
The UK Pollinator Monitoring Website contains all the information and resources you need to get involved.
Guide to recognising the insect groups you need to count
The Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (JBMS)
In 2004 the Government of Jersey Department of Environment established the Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (JBMS). The scheme relies on a team of dedicated volunteers who walk transects each week from spring through to the autumn, identifying and counting the butterflies encountered at locations across Jersey. The JBMS follows the methodology developed by Butterfly Conservation for the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. The resulting dataset is one of the most important resources for understanding changes in insect populations and answering policy questions relating to status and trends in biodiversity in Jersey.
The JBMS aims to:
- Provide information at local levels on changes in the abundance of butterfly species.
- Detect trends which may indicate changes in their status.
- Provide a reliable long-term reference against which population changes in species studied elsewhere on individual sites, or in other countries, can be monitored.
- Monitor changes at individual sites.
- Assess the impact of local factors such as habitat change caused by management.
- Provide information on aspects of the population ecology and phenology of individual species, both in relation to the effect of environmental changes (including climate change) and as a contribution to butterfly ecology.
For further information about the scheme, including how to get involved, contact the Government of Jersey Environment Department:
Telephone: (01534) 441600.
Email: environmentenquiries@gov.je
A report on the data collected over the first 10 years of the JBMS can be accessed by clicking the link below:
The State of Jersey’s Butterflies: Jersey Butterfly Monitoring Scheme 2004 to 2013
