Clean Up and Get Ready to Count

I enjoy participating in the citizen science project known as The Great Southeast Pollinator Census. Originally started in Georgia in 2019, it now includes South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida. Timed so that school kids can also participate, the census aims to increase awareness of our pollinators by asking people to spend at least 15 minutes counting them. By increasing awareness, we increase the chance that people will take steps to protect them. In addition to providing resources for the count itself (including a printable form), the census website includes resources about creating a pollinator garden and even recommends using native plants.

Silver-spotted skipper

Early instar Jorō in front of same flowers

In preparation for the count, I now have a new step: remove Jorō spider webs from around my pollinator garden areas. I first wrote about these in 2020 to bring awareness to their spread. I wrote about them again in 2021 (link here) where I encouraged people to remove them to protect our pollinators. The folks at UGA originally suggested that residents didn’t have to do anything about them. In recognition of their impact on pollinators, however, they finally updated their guidance in 2023 to recommend that webs be removed in two areas: “The two places where no one should allow the webs to remain are around pollinator or flower gardens and bee hives.”

Later instar Jorō has larger web with gold threads

Start getting ready now by looking for webs (the UGA article has really good photos of the different growth instars to help you recognize them) and using long sticks and brooms to clear the webs and destroy the spiders so that our pollinators have the best chance of doing what they need to do.  

So, sharpen your pencils, read up on the guidelines, and get counting! The count period will be August 23 and 24, 2024. If you need a place to count, many local community gardens are offering guided counts and beautiful flowers on which to count. If you see something unusual, snap a quick photo and get help figuring it out after the count. You can read my earlier blogs about my participation in the counts all the way back to the beginning.