The Spring Bees and Butterflies Bioblitz

Help us fill the gap in Vermont’s pollinator data!

We’re partnering with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies to make sure our community science efforts make the most impact. While mid-summer pollinators are well-documented, there is a lack of data on those emerging early in the year. Join our BioBlitz on iNaturalist to help us capture this vital early-season data and advance conservation research across Vermont.

What is it?

iNaturalist is tool for naturalists to use to document biodiversity, and make observations about the world around them. Simply capture photos of the organism that you'd like to identify and the iNaturalist algorithm will try to identify your observation. The community of naturalists will make suggestions and attempt to determine the species that you observed.

Getting Started

You'll want to learn how to use the app on iPhone or Android. You can also use the online web version if you'd like to capture images with a dedicated camera and/or work from a larger screen. You can also use these online pdfs for guidance: "how to use iNaturalist" and "iNaturalist guide".

How to make high quality observations on iNaturalist

You can take great quality observations on iNaturalist and here's how!

Firstly, for the purposes of the City Nature Challenge, we are looking for observations of WILD organisms.

Check out this helpful post from out in Oregon.

In short:

1. Consider: camera focus, light exposure, proximity and viewpoint, and background.
2. Take multiple photos! You can add a lot of photos to a single observation so take them from multiple angles, distances, show the surrounding context, other individuals if any, multiple plant parts (flower, leaf, bark, bud, etc).
3. Scale. Include a ruler in the photo if you have one, or a standard size object like a coin.
4. Additional: Learn what characteristics are key for the organism you are observing. Add notes to the observation description of other things that you notice. Mark an observation as "captive" if not a wild organism.

Do I need to use the iNaturalist app?

Yes, and no. To participate, observations need to be posted on iNaturalist, however, you can take photos using your phone or dedicated camera and upload them later using the iNaturalist website or app.

How can I ensure my observations make it into the project?

Simply by uploading your observations during the project period, and either marking them as a bee or butterfly, or once the community of naturalists identify your observation as such, it will automatically be included in the project.

What if I make observations outside of the project boundaries?

Observations in other towns are great and they will help to contribute to the database on iNaturalist, however, they won't be included for the purposes of this project.

Our community observations are just the first step!  

Whether you're a taxonomy pro, know a lot of butterflies, or you just know the difference between a mourning cloak butterfly and an eastern comma, we can always use help getting closer to a species identification for observations made during the bioblitz. 

Identify to the level that you feel comfortable! iNaturalist has levels of specificity with identification. For example, for an observation of a bee, you might choose a broad level of identification like "insects" or "bees", but you might also be more confident in your answer and choose something like the species level "bicolored striped sweat bee".

Here's an example of how it's broken down:

• Class Insecta: Insects (less specific) 
  • Epifamily Anthophila: Bees
    • Family Halictidae: Sweat Bees
      • Genus Agapostemon: Striped Sweat Bees
        • Agapostemon virescens: Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee (very specific)

Many identifiers in the iNaturalist community have specializations. If you can help get an observation from "unknown" to "Bees", that might be enough to catch the attention of an expert. 

Join other projects

iNaturalist is a great place to get involved in community science beyond the bioblitz. You can join a variety of projects from Pollinator Interactions on Plants to Phenology Tracking in New England - Trees and Shrubs and many more across the state, region, and beyond!

We recommend checking out other opportunities to help scientists answer key biodiversity questions by visiting the VT Center for Ecostudies projects page.