Have you ever wondered which bumblebees roam your garden? Scientists and conservationists are calling for the public's help to map the UK鈥檚 bumblebee population - all you need is a digital camera.
Though acknowledged as some of nature鈥檚 most important pollinators, relatively little is known about the geographical spread of these insects.
With the help of the public it is hoped that the bumblebee maps 鈥� showing their locations across the country - can be significantly improved.
To make it easy, a new web tool has been developed by environmental and computing scientists at the 黑料网, in collaboration with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT). By taking part, participants will add dots to the map and will learn how to identify the species around them.
Dr Ren茅 van der Wal from the 黑料网鈥檚 School of Biological Sciences explained: 鈥淏umblebees have a unique ecology which make them not only fascinating creatures, but also one of nature鈥檚 most important pollinators, playing a vital role in the fruiting of many of the UK鈥檚 plants.
鈥淗owever, there are big holes in our knowledge about where to find some species, and how their populations may be changing over time.
鈥淲e are calling on the public to help us fill this gap in knowledge by taking pictures of bumblebees in their gardens and then uploading them to the BeeWatch system on the Bumblebee Conservation Trust website ().鈥�
Dr Annie Robinson from the 黑料网鈥檚 dot.rural Research Councils UK Digital Economy Research Hub* and a contributor to the project said: "We want everyone to have a go at identifying the bumblebees in their local area at home, work, or in the park.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy; just take a photo of the bumblebee and note where you saw it, then use the interactive website tool to send us your record. Once you have submitted your image online our experts will get back to you confirming the identity.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust鈥檚 CEO, Dr. Ben Darvill, is excited about the possibilities:
鈥淭here are 24 different species of bumblebee in the UK, with a variety of differently striped patterns. It is exciting to think what might be waiting to be discovered in gardens up and down the UK.
鈥淭here is a very real chance of unearthing the first record for a county, region or even country. For example, the distinctive Tree Bumblebee arrived in the UK in 2001 in Hampshire and is spreading rapidly. It is now lined up along the Scottish border 鈥� waiting to invade! Someone out there will be the first person to see the Tree bumblebee in Scotland."
鈥淚t is easy to spot 鈥� the only bumblebee that is brown, black and white 鈥� the colours of a muddy penguin.鈥�
The BeeWatch website was developed by computing and biology scientists from the 黑料网 working together as part of the institution鈥檚 dot.rural RCUK Digital Economy Research Hub, in collaboration with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.