The dedicated PoMS website was launched on 20 May 2021. This site now contains all the information, guides and recording forms you need to take part in PoMS, and you can see the survey results as they come in.
All the recording forms, guidance documents and background information that was previously available via this page are now on the UKPoMS site.
We are pleased to announce the launch of the FIT Count app. This provides all you need to carry out a FIT Count in the field and then upload your results so they can form part of PoMS. The app is free to download at the links below:
Visit the UKPoMS website to find the full FIT Count survey instructions, recording form and identification guides.
The Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership (PMRP) aims to establish how insect pollinator populations are changing across Great Britain. We are working with existing recording schemes that focus on pollinating insects, and have established two new large-scale surveys under the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme banner (PoMS) – read on to find out how you can take part and help us track changes in pollinator numbers.
The 2022 FIT Count season began on 1 April and is now open for records. The PoMS 1km square surveys will restart from May 2022. It is essential that those taking part in PoMS follow the latest Government advice for their country to keep everyone safe, and to prevent the spread and transmission of Covid-19.
No volunteer should undertake survey work if displaying symptoms of Covid-19. The health of our volunteers is very important to us, as are our relationships with the landowners where we are accessing private land. No-one should feel under pressure to carry out PoMS surveys if they do not feel comfortable doing so, or if they are concerned it may negatively impact relationships with landowners or other members of the public and local communities.
We will continue to review official legislation and guidance and consult with Statutory and NGO partners on the implications for our surveys.
The two PoMS surveys are described below, and we are seeking volunteers to help with each:
1. FIT Counts: if you can spare ten minutes to sit and watch insects and flowers you can carry out a FIT Count (Flower-Insect Timed Count)! This simple survey collects data on the total number of insects that visit a particular flower, ideally chosen from our list of 14 target flowers. FIT Counts can be done anywhere, including gardens and parks, in warm, dry weather any time from April to September. All the information you need can be found on the PoMS website FIT Counts page.
2. 1km square surveys: This survey takes a more systematic approach, using pan-traps to capture take samples of insects from a set of 75 1km squares in England, Scotland and Wales (see link under "Latest news" to download a map of the locations). These have been randomly allocated within cropped and non-cropped land. The site network has been set up by UKCEH surveyors, and the sampling and flower monitoring is carried out by our brilliant team of volunteers who have 'adopted' the squares and help carry out the surveys. There are still squares available to adopt! If you'd like to know more about how to get involved with this please contact poms@ceh.ac.uk and see the video guide to the 1 km square survey via the link under "Latest news" on the right.
Data from the two PoMS surveys and the recording schemes are brought together for analysis to deliver key metrics on pollinator population status and trends, including updates of the UK Pollinator Indicator at species and country-level resolution.
These activities will be coupled with ongoing links with the wider research community to facilitate use of the data in research, conservation and survey planning, and deliver a sustainable UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership (PMRP).
The project will focus on bees and hoverflies (based on evidence that they provide a high proportion of the pollination service to crops and wildflowers), although the methods used will sample or survey a wide range of other flower-visiting insects. Protocols and materials will be made widely accessible to allow their use beyond core survey sites and to measure the impacts of specific activities.
PoMS is the only scheme in the world generating systematic data on the abundance of bees, hoverflies and other flower-visiting insects at a national scale (currently across England, Wales and Scotland). Together with long-term occurrence records collated by the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society and Hoverfly Recording Scheme, these data will form an invaluable resource from which to measure trends in pollinator populations and target our conservation efforts.
With reports of dramatic losses of insects occurring across the globe, and concern about what this means for wider biodiversity and ecosystem health, there has never been a more important time to document evidence of change in populations of pollinating insects.
For more information about the project please contact poms@ceh.ac.uk or see the PoMS website.
This is a collaborative project funded by Defra, JNCC, the Welsh Government, Scottish Government, Daera and project partners.
