TY - JOUR

T1 - Citizen Science-Based Monitoring of Cavity-Nesting Wild Bees and Wasps – Benefits for Volunteers, Insects, and Ecological Science

AU - Lindermann, Lara

AU - Grabener, Swantje

AU - Hellwig, Niels

AU - Stahl, Johanna

AU - Dieker, Petra

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s).

PY - 2024/9

Y1 - 2024/9

N2 - Citizen science approaches are promising for raising awareness about the sensitivity of pollinators to environmental changes and simultaneously gathering data about their biology. Questions remain, however, about citizens’ ability to gather accurate data. Here, we present a citizen science monitoring approach of cavity-nesting wild bees and wasps in agricultural landscapes across Germany. By using nesting observation blocks (NOBs), which consist of individual wooden boards screwed together, volunteers record the colonisation and development of cavity-nesting Hymenoptera. To do this, they open the NOBs monthly and photograph each board individually. We tested if volunteers can be trained to accurately identify taxa from photographs by offering identification courses and an online quiz. For that purpose, twelve volunteers without taxonomic knowledge identified and counted larvae and cocoons of wild bees and wasps in 4,203 occupied cavities: 92.4% were correctly identified, 4.8% were incorrectly identified, and 2.8% were unidentifiable by experts. These results indicated that volunteers unfamiliar with these taxonomic groups successfully gained a high level of knowledge within one season supported by identification trainings. Using Wald chi-square tests, successful identification was mainly affected by the variability of the taxon. In view of increasing public demand for habitat restoration to halt and counteract declining pollinator populations, the proposed citizen science monitoring approach offers an opportunity for every interested citizen, regardless of their background knowledge, to engage with wild bees and wasps, and gain knowledge about their ecology.

AB - Citizen science approaches are promising for raising awareness about the sensitivity of pollinators to environmental changes and simultaneously gathering data about their biology. Questions remain, however, about citizens’ ability to gather accurate data. Here, we present a citizen science monitoring approach of cavity-nesting wild bees and wasps in agricultural landscapes across Germany. By using nesting observation blocks (NOBs), which consist of individual wooden boards screwed together, volunteers record the colonisation and development of cavity-nesting Hymenoptera. To do this, they open the NOBs monthly and photograph each board individually. We tested if volunteers can be trained to accurately identify taxa from photographs by offering identification courses and an online quiz. For that purpose, twelve volunteers without taxonomic knowledge identified and counted larvae and cocoons of wild bees and wasps in 4,203 occupied cavities: 92.4% were correctly identified, 4.8% were incorrectly identified, and 2.8% were unidentifiable by experts. These results indicated that volunteers unfamiliar with these taxonomic groups successfully gained a high level of knowledge within one season supported by identification trainings. Using Wald chi-square tests, successful identification was mainly affected by the variability of the taxon. In view of increasing public demand for habitat restoration to halt and counteract declining pollinator populations, the proposed citizen science monitoring approach offers an opportunity for every interested citizen, regardless of their background knowledge, to engage with wild bees and wasps, and gain knowledge about their ecology.

KW - agricultural landscapes

KW - Hymenoptera

KW - monitoring

KW - nesting aids

KW - nonlethal

KW - Trap nests

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85204073015&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.5334/cstp.632

DO - 10.5334/cstp.632

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85204073015

VL - 9

JO - Citizen Science: Theory and Practice

JF - Citizen Science: Theory and Practice

SN - 2057-4991

IS - 1

ER -