PollinatorWatch

What am I looking at?
All images presented in the project are crops or "detections" from a neural network. This means that a computer has analysed a time-lapse image and "guessed" that this specific part of it contains a flower. Computers are often wrong though, so sometimes you might encounter what is known as a "false positive". False positives are images the computer thought were flowers, because they share some of the same visual features, but which can really be anything from stones, to shrubs, lens flares etc.
The way we produce the data also means that the quality of the images is often quite low, as we have zoomed in many times on the original image, to spot the small pollinators. Unfortunately there is not much to be done about this, so view it as an extra challenge if you will! 😃
Most of the crops you will see on PollinatorWatch contain only flowers and no pollinators, but don't let that discourage you! By pointing out which flowers do not contain insects you are still contributing to our research in a very meaningful way!

What should I do if I am unsure if an image is a pollinator or not?
Due to variable weather and light conditions on the test sites some of the images can be very hard to recognise. In addition, the flowers can be on different stages of development. If you are unsure if an image is a pollinator or a false positive, just do your best and follow your instinct. You can also take a look at the field guide on the right hand side, which can give you a better understanding of the different developmental stages of the flowers. Also, make sure you go through the tutorial to see some example images.

What if I make a mistake?
First of all, don't worry! Everybody makes mistakes (even computers) and it wouldn't be called research if we got it right every time. If you have already pressed 'Done' and submitted your answer unfortunately you cannot go back and change it. However, we hope to collect enough data that single mistakes will not effect our final data too much. Keep going!

What's all the buzz about?
Even though they are small, pollinators have a huge impact on our lives! Pollinators such as bees play a critical role in our food production system and contribute to healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. When seasons shift due to climate change, the overlap between the pollinators' active season and the flowering of different plant species is affected. We want to better understand the consequences of this, and as a volunteer you are helping us towards that!

How can I learn more about this research?
Engage with us on the 'Talk' feature! We are always up for hearing your thoughts about the project and telling you more about our research! You can also check out this video, an interview with our principal researcher Toke. It should provide you with a little more background knowledge for the project.