Flower-Insect Timed Count data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) covering 2017 to 2023. The dataset contains counts of insects landing on target flowers within a defined quadrat over ten minutes, collected by both public volunteers and PoMS staff. UK PoMS is coordinated by UKCEH with multiple delivery and steering partners including conservation trusts and government agencies.
Use Cases
- Analyze pollinator population trends over time based on multi-year survey data from 2017-2023.
- Model the relationship between insect counts and environmental variables mentioned in the description.
- Compare pollinator activity between public volunteer surveys and structured 1 km square surveys described in the methodology.
- Assess geographic coverage of pollinator monitoring based on the UK-wide survey expansion from 2021.
- Study the effectiveness of citizen-science methodologies for ecological monitoring based on the described FIT Count protocol.
Strengths
- Multi-year temporal coverage from 2017 to 2023.
- Data collection uses a standardized protocol (50 cm x 50 cm quadrat, 10-minute observation).
- Combines data from two sources: public citizen scientists and structured PoMS 1 km square surveys.
- Full UK geographic coverage from 2021 onwards, as stated in the description.
Limitations
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Data from 2017 and Northern Ireland in 2021 are described as pilot years with less data.
Provenance
- Source
- UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS), coordinated by UKCEH with partners including the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, and universities.
- Collection Method
- Flower-Insect Timed Count (FIT Count) surveys conducted by volunteer citizen scientists and PoMS staff using a standardized observation protocol.
- Time Range
- 2017-2023
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-06-04 16:06:32.917007; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- United Kingdom, with England, Scotland, and Wales covered from 2017-2020 and full UK coverage from 2021.