Great Southeast Pollinator Census – Year 6

The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is a fun citizen science activity that helps people get more acquainted with their local pollinators. It also helps them see which plants get good insect activity.

Pollinator census capture of skippers in love

I like to count in both the morning and afternoon to see how the pollinator activity changes. I enjoy watching how the different pollinators behave: for example, bumble bees move fast while carpenter bees lumber and prefer to crawl from flower to flower if they can.  

Every year that I do the census, it makes me think anew about how my pollinator garden can be more successful. In my 3-part pollinator series, I talked about several factors for supporting the most pollinators: using regional plants, providing for succession of blooms, having more than one of the same plant, and using different plants for different pollinators. If you haven't read it, dive into part one, part two, and part 3 at the hotlinks.

Red admiral on Joe pye (Eutrochium)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails

This is the sixth year of the census; it has expanded from Georgia-only to now include NC, SC, and FL. You are welcome to see my reports from the previous years, starting with 2023 (it has links to the older ones). Because the count is held during the same general timeframe each year, you'll see that I count on the same types of flowers each year (and I'm always amazed at well they support pollinators). It is clear from my counts that I have a really healthy bumble bee population!

Ailanthus moth on Rudbeckia laciniata

Bumble bee on Silphium

Carpenter bee on Silphium