November 18th, 2022Census time for Australian pollinators, but they need our help

It’s census time for Australian pollinators, but they need our help.
The inaugural Australian Pollinator Count started on Monday as part of Australian Pollinator Week, and community members
across the country are being encouraged to take part.
The Australian Pollinator Count is being launched with funding from Wheen Bee Foundation, and is supported by Count
partners Earthwatch Australia, Australian Native Bee Association and Bees Business.
Wheen Bee Foundation CEO Fiona Chambers says the Count is an important research project that requires the power of
citizen scientists from all parts of Australia.
“More than three-quarters of the world’s food crops rely, to some extent, on insect pollination for yield or quality, and
more than 95 per cent of plant species need animal pollinators to help them reproduce. Yet there is very little information
available about the vast majority of natural pollinators,” Ms Chambers says.
“We need a country-wide review of the state of pollinators, and to do this we need everyone to take part.”
The Australian Pollinator Count is a long-term project to monitor the status and trends of pollinator populations. This
includes more than 2,000 species of bees, along with thousands of species of flies, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and
other insects.
“We need more information about these populations so we can make informed decisions to ensure their wellbeing and safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem health,” Ms Chambers says.