The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS), which engages thousands of citizen scientists to record insects on surveys across the UK countryside and gardens, is emphasising the value of having a wide range of plants and habitats to support a diverse range of pollinators.
The latest annual report of the scheme, coordinated by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), has been published at the start of Insect Week 2025, organised by the Royal Entomological Society (RES). The RES is calling on everyone to pledge to discover, observe and protect insects in all their fascinating glory.
The PoMS report highlights some interesting findings from 2024.
Little Blue Carpenter Bee, Variable Nomad Bee, Golf-club Duckfly hoverfly and Variable Pufftail hoverfly –species with restricted distributions and fascinating life histories, were sampled within PoMS surveys – for the first time.
Data from 10-minute ‘FIT Count’ surveys of insects visiting flowers across the eight full seasons of monitoring that have taken place so far show Ivy and Hogweed to be clear favourites in terms of the overall total number of insects. However, Bramble, Knapweeds, Buddleja and Lavender received a high proportion of visits from bumblebees, solitary bees and honeybees, and flowers of Ragwort and Thistles were important for hoverflies and other flies.
Growing evidence base
PoMS comprises two separate types of survey:
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The 10-minute Flower-Insect Timed Counts (FIT Counts) involve members of the public recording insects visiting a patch of flowers. They note the group to which each insect belongs – including bumblebees, solitary bees, hoverflies, other flies or beetles – and also collect information on flower abundance, surrounding habitats and weather conditions.
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A systematic 1 km square survey of 95 sites surveyed by trained volunteers across the UK. These surveys have recorded more than 260 species of bees and hoverflies - nearly half the known species within these insect groups in the UK.
Since PoMS surveys began in 2017, there have been 20,684 FIT Counts, logging a total of 217,215 insect visits to flowers, and 1,723 systematic survey visits to 1 km squares across the UK.
PoMS lead Dr Claire Carvell, an ecologist at UKCEH and a RES Fellow: “Thanks to the combined contributions of volunteers, expert taxonomists and the PoMS partnership, we are establishing a critical baseline for studying the abundance and species richness of pollinating insects through time across the UK.
“Insect populations fluctuate from year to year but PoMS is providing a consistent methodology which, as the dataset grows, will enable us to understand the health of our pollinators and their habitats. This is critical to inform ongoing conservation action to address biodiversity loss.”
Partnership for pollinators
PoMS is run by a partnership of conservation and research organisations jointly funded by UKCEH and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).
This year the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) joined the PoMS partnership. FIT Counts are now being used across RHS gardens to improve evidence behind its Plants for Pollinators lists, helping gardeners select the best pollinator-friendly flowers.
Helen Bostock, Senior Wildlife Specialist at the RHS, said: “We’re delighted to be teaming up with PoMS. It has enabled us to use the power of our living collections combined with the enthusiasm of our volunteers to gather reliable plant-pollinator data – using FIT Count really has been the perfect ‘fit’!”.
Help monitor pollinators
Surveys are carried out between 1 April and 30 September. For information on getting involved in a FIT Count or a 1km survey, or to view live data, visit the PoMS website. The FIT Count app can be downloaded for Android or Apple phones. You can also subscribe to the PoMS newsletter.
The PoMS Annual Report 2024 is available in English and Welsh via ukpoms.org.uk/reports
Further information
Claire Carvell and Helen Bostock discussed PoMS and the importance of citizen science in an episode of UKCEH’s podcast series Counting the Earth recorded last year.
JNCC funding for PoMS comes from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland (DAERA). The UKCEH contribution is part-funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.
Other partners are: Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, Buglife, Royal Horticultural Society, Hymettus, Natural History Museum, University of Reading, University of Leeds and DAERA.