What you will need:
Survey form Data collection sheet
Clipboard and pencil
Species code list. A list of codes is provided on the survey form and codes are also displayed on the ID guides.
ID guides CPP Bee ID Guide CPP Butterfly and Moth ID Guide CPP Flies and Other Insects ID Guide
Map of the flower bed you are surveying if you cannot identify the plants or the labels are not in place. Dunorlan Park Bed Map Grosvenor & Hilbert Park Bed Map Oakley School Bed Map Pepenbury Bed Map Sherwood Bed Map CPP Bed Maps
Watch or other mechanism for telling the time
Camera*
Secateurs and gloves (if helping maintain the flowers)*
*optional
Completing the survey form
You need to move from plant to plant taking an instantaneous count of the insects foraging on that plant. This usually is about 2 minutes per plant patch. If you are just starting out this will take a bit longer, but once you have some practice a survey can be done very quickly. You can do more than one survey on your visit if you have time, just leave a sufficient gap between surveys so you are not counting the same insects twice. Usually by the time you have finished a survey of all the plants, spending a couple of minutes at each plant, enough time has passed when you start again. Avoid doing surveys on days when the weather is poor (i.e. heavy rain or strong winds) as insects are not likely to be foraging.
Site Name: the site you are at (i.e. Dunorlan Park, Grosvenor & Hilbert Park, Oakley School, Pepenbury, or Sherwood Allotments)
Time: record the start time of your survey
Survey Ref/No: if you are doing more than one survey on that visit you can record them here
Surveyor Name/Group: The name of the person(s) or group carrying out the survey
Temp: record the temperature in Celsius – you can estimate or use your smart phone if you have one
Wind: record the wind using the Beaufort scale which can be found at the bottom of the survey form
% Blue sky: estimate to the nearest 10% increment the percentage of blue sky from 0 to 100.
Area m²: The CPP beds are all divided into 1 metre² plots but the plant may not be filling its plot or may have overgrown it and spreading over. So for example if the lavender is only filling half of its plot please record 0.5m²
Bloom %: This is how much the plant is currently flowering. E.g. No flowers = 0%, half the flowers are out = 50% and in full bloom = 100%
Flower height: estimate the average flower height in centimetres
Insects: You need to record the numbers of each insect found foraging on the plant. If they are not a foraging insect, ie the ladybird, do not record it. If you are unsure, record it. The insects are split into 9 categories: Honeybee; Bumble bee; Other bee; Hoverfly; Other fly; Butterfly; Moth; Beetle; and Other insect.
Bumble bee is split into 7 species types, details of which can be found at the bottom of the survey form. For all insects other than Honeybee and Bumble bee, if you can identify the species please record it using the code followed by the quantity- for example 2 Peacock butterflies would be recorded in the butterfly box as PC2. If you cannot identify the species just record the number and not the species. A list of codes is provided with the survey kit and codes are also displayed on the provided ID guides.
Complete the total number of all insects found on the plant in the last column.
Submitting your data
If you are planning to carry out a few surveys please send your completed forms in small batches. Completed forms can be posted to the address below or emailed to info@cross-pollination.uk or cally@khwp.org.uk. If neither of these options are practical, contact us and we can send you a stamped and self-addressed envelope or you can drop the competed surveys into the site office of the CPP bed you are at. You can obtain additional survey forms and a survey kit by contacting Cally on 01580 212972 or emailing info@cross-pollination.uk or cally@khwp.org.uk.
Other information and contact details
If you are able and willing please feel free to take secateurs and gloves with you when surveying – we would really appreciate help with dead-heading and weeding of the CPP beds. If you notice any damage or problems with the CPP beds please contact Cally Fiddimore on 01580 212972 or email info@cross-pollination.uk or cally@khwp.org.uk .
Cross Pollination Project, Kent High Weald Partnership, Walled Garden, Bedgebury Pinetum, Bedgebury Road, Goudhurst, Kent TN17 2SJ
Here is a PDF printable version of the CPP Survey Instructions Instructions for Cross Pollination Project Survey