The GGAPC Continues, Year 4

 

Citizen science projects can really contribute to the data needed and used to understand how a wild organism is faring. There are annual bird counts and butterfly counts nationwide. In Georgia, now wrapping up its fourth year, there is a Pollinator count. This year’s count happened amid a spell of rainy weather but it cleared up enough in my area to count on Saturday.

Despite working with me for the last two years, my grandson was too impatient this year to sit for 15 minutes. He started to count but could not finish and I had to discard his count. I will try with him again next year.  I went on to finish two counts, one on cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) and another on hollowstem Joe pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum).  I often use these two plants; they are both usually blooming nicely during the time period of the count (3^rd week of August).

Joe pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum)

The GGAPC website has a summaries of the previous years’ participation, with data on the number of counters, the number of insects counted, and numbers by category:

2019: 4,698 counters tallied over 131,000 insect visits.

2020: 3,746 counters tallied 81,095 insect visits.

2021: 5,941 counters tallied 111,743 insect visits.

Bumble bee on Rudbeckia laciniata

I hope that many researchers are able use the more detailed data (spreadsheets with county and insect details are available) to see how our insect population in Georgia is faring. One goal of the project is to bring more awareness to the general public about the abundance and diversity of pollinators; people are encouraged to prepare by planting more suitable flowers (and native ones, I hope!).

If you’re in Georgia (or South Carolina, it was added as a location this year), I hope you will count with us next year. It only takes 15 minutes and a blooming plant to make it happen. Here are links to my previous blogs on counting efforts in 2019, 2020, and 2021. 

I didn’t have nearly as many butterflies this year (really, I only had one that kept flying from flower to flower), and I was disappointed to not see the elephant mosquito this year (but other people reported it so clearly this is a good time of year to see it).

Carpenter bee on Eutrochium