UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme

@SEQ616 Yes we are on Bluesky @pomscheme and post from other platforms with UKCEH

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Happy New Year from the PoMS team! Incase you missed our December newsletter, find it here including: 📊 updates on 2025 surveys 🌼 FIT Count projects (now is the perfect time to sign up for 2026) 🪰🐝🐞 links to a great series of past & upcoming #pollinator webinars ⬇️⬇️

Target flowers for FIT Counts at the moment include heathers, Ivy, Buddleia & thistles, but if you don't have any of those nearby it's fine to use other flowers - see the FIT Count guides at ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts and give it a try over the bank holiday 👍

We're on track for our highest ever total of FIT Counts this year 👏🎉 - a huge thank you to everyone taking part 🙏 And there's still a month to go! All counts up to the end of September will add to the data for this year and help us monitor changes in #pollinator numbers.

Join us at the UKBMS 50th Anniversary Conference! We can't wait to celebrate this milestone year with you 🎂 Join us for a day of butterfly science, celebrations and chatting with other butterfly enthusiasts. Book your free place here - buff.ly/prxPuTC #UKBMS50

The latest PoMS e-news is out: updates on FIT Counts in 2025; news of a new UK butterfly; research on plants for pollinators; PoMS local projects; & some great forthcoming events. If you missed it you can read it at mailchi.mp/e73193cb8054/u… & subscribe at ukpoms.org.uk/subscribe

In our latest blog we join Lynne Bates of Scottish Wildlife Trust in taking a peek at the stunning Ayrshire Nectar Network. Fantastic projects, enthusiastic people and plenty of pollinators ... scottishpollinators.wordpress.com

Our fourth NPMS Annual Report is hot off the press. This year we take a special look at the achievements of the scheme & our volunteers over the last decade, as the NPMS celebrates it's special 10th anniversary. Read the report here ow.ly/lbMF50WwzpT #NPMS10

NEW: Your PoMS Insights - if you sent in a FIT Count in 2024-25 you may have had an email from us with feedback on how your results, and to thank you for your participation - and hopefully encourage you to keep adding new counts! More info: ukpoms.org.uk/news/insights

This week’s challenge is #PollinatorPals! Find a flowering wild or naturalised plant with a pollinating visitor & snap away. Of course it’s not just about bees! Butterflies, moths, wasps, flies & beetles can all be #pollinators too! Share your pics for #Wildflowerhour this Sunday

It's the perfect time to check if your bee box has been used this year. Check if any of the cavities are closed off with pieces of leaf or mud. If they're empty & it hasn’t been used, store it indoors over winter & move it to a new location near a food source next spring.

It's the final weekend to get out for the #BigButterflyCount and help take nature's pulse 🦋 You don't need to be an expert to make a big difference for butterflies and moths. All you need is 15 mins, a spot of sunshine and patience! …erflycount.butterfly-conservation.org 📷: @pallantmedical

For full details of the science behind the RHS review see the paper by Andy Salisbury et al. academic.oup.com/bioscience/adv…

Scientists from the Royal Horticultural Society have reviewed and updated the RHS "Plants for Pollinators" list, and volunteers at RHS gardens are using PoMS FIT Counts to gather further data on insects visiting flowers rhs.org.uk/science/articl…

@GrahamDenny9 @FarmInvertsUK @StevenFalk1 @NHM_London @Rothamsted @Gameandwildlife @fbuner @ja_ewald @flygirlNHM Perfect for a FIT Count if you can spare 10 minutes @GrahamDenny9 ! ukpoms.org.uk/fit-count-app

Just for fun how many and what on the umbellifers! Changes like a buffet plate every time I come back ! 😁@FarmInvertsUK @StevenFalk1 @NHM_London @Rothamsted @PoMScheme @Gameandwildlife @fbuner @ja_ewald @flygirlNHM

@apiculturalLdn @britishbee @NBNAtlas The species records from PoMS 1km squares are also being prepared for the @NBNAtlas and recording schemes, so will be integrated with clear metadata on how they were collected

@PoMScheme @britishbee But it doesn’t migrate to national recording schemes like eg BWARS or appear on @NBNAtlas so wits a seperate data set to what most biological recorders are using and contributing to?

Bees' Needs Week is a great time to join in with the UK Pollinator Monitoring Schedule. Data will form an invaluable resource from which to measure trends in pollinator populations and target conservation efforts. ukpoms.org.uk/home

@apiculturalLdn @britishbee UK PoMS runs structured surveys (FIT Counts and 1km square surveys) collecting data at different taxonomic resolutions (group to species level). All species records are from specimens and verified within our taxonomy team. All data are available here ukpoms.org.uk/data

@britishbee @PoMScheme are records verified by an expert and are the data sets freely available to everyone?

Another great day for #BeesNeedsWeek2025 at RHS Garden Rosemoor discovering #pollinators with RHS staff and volunteers. The rain held off for two fun #FITcount sessions, Scabious and Fennel buzzing with insects in the Cottage Garden! Find out more rhs.org.uk/science/resear…

The latest FIT Count season is well underway now. When weather is good, enjoy spending 10 minutes counting the insects on flowers - wherever you can find flowers, and as often as you wish, to help monitor #pollinators. Full details ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts