Thank you to everyone who submitted observations to Wild Pollinator Count for Spring 2018.
We broke all our count records! Just over 600 observations of more than 6700 insects were submitted to Wild Pollinator Count from 182 unique locations. We covered all states and territories, except the Northern Territory.
European honey bees were the most commonly observed insect, with flies coming in second. Flies are important pollinators of many plants, including some plant species that aren’t pollinated effectively by European honey bees. It’s great to see them feature in our Wild Pollinator Counts!
| Insect group | Number of observations |
| European honey bees | 2836 |
| Native bees | 1045 |
| Beetles | 1017 |
| Butterflies & Moths | 294 |
| Flies | 1401 |
| European wasps | 36 |
| Native wasps | 108 |
Just over half (53%) of the observations were on exotic plants, the remainder on native plants. Most exotic plants submitted with recorded insect observations were common garden plants and herbs: roses, lavender, salvia, nasturtium, basil, coriander, sage and thyme. Commonly recorded native plants included grevilleas, callistemons, kunzeas, eucalypts, bluebells, hibbertias and dianellas.
The next count will be in April 2019. We count twice a year to cover seasonal changes in pollinator communities – we hope you count with us regularly so you notice these changes over time in your local patch!
Don’t forget our Resources pages, where you can find lots of identification tips.
Photo gallery to come!
Update: view the photos here.
Wild Pollinator Count 