How are the bumblebees in Germany? To find out, the German Nature Conservation Union (BN) called on people to count the small, buzzing insects around us. With a smartphone app, anyone can go out and record bumblebees in nature, a spokesman for the BN announced in Nuremberg on Monday. The data collected in this way should help to find out more about the distribution areas and diversity of bumblebee species and to document changes.
“In addition to the scientific data from wild bee monitoring, every nature lover can now collect bumblebee observations and make an important contribution,” said project manager Martina Gehret. The best chances of encountering a bumblebee are with plants with blue and purple flowers such as dead nettle, knautia, comfrey, motherwort, thistle or clover, said Sophie Ogan from the Thünen Institute, which is involved in the project. These flowers are very popular with bumblebees, where they collect pollen and drink nectar. “That’s why they stay still for a short time and you can easily photograph them.” Flowering fruit trees and bushes are also very popular in spring.
According to BN, those interested can take part between March 20th and April 9th and between June 20th and July 3rd via the free ObsIdentify app. Using artificial intelligence and automatic image recognition, the app records which species of bumblebee it is. The data would then be checked by experts. “The photos we receive through the bumblebee challenge provide us with important data for research,” added bumblebee expert Ogan.
Based on geodata, it is possible to understand where which bumblebee was spotted. “The flower on which the wild bee was photographed can also be important for later evaluation. That’s why we’re really happy if many people take part in the project.”