Diario del proyecto Global Pollinator Watch Lenovo 2024

Dear Lenovo Team,

Thank you for your continued contributions to the Global Pollinator Watch project! Through your efforts so far, we’ve amassed 72 observations for the project, of which just over 50% are research grade – those observations which are most valuable for scientific research and conservation. We encourage you to continue contributing your high-quality insect pollinator observations for the remainder of the Love on Month of Service and help to identify the observations of others. If you work in the office, grab a colleague or two and head out together for a ‘lunch time’ exploration of the pollinator communities thriving in and around your workplace!

By contributing these observations, you are providing scientists and decision makers around the world with the data they need to assess the presence and diversity of pollinator populations and to make the important conservation management decisions that will support the long-term stability of these insects.

Alongside your involvement on iNaturalist – we encourage you to consider the following actions to help support healthy pollinator populations!

1. Foster a healthy ecosystem by planting native species and avoiding the use of pesticides and herbicides.
2. Build a bee house for your local wild bee populations.
3. Educate your friends, family, and community members about pollinator decline and the important role that insect pollinators play in contributing to a healthy planet.

Check out the following additional resources to learn more about how you can take action for pollinators today and every day!

https://rockies.audubon.org/blog/naturalist/how-to-build-a-pollinator-house
https://earthwatch.org/stories/six-ways-support-pollinators
https://www.pollinator.org/guides
https://xerces.org/events

As the sun sets, and most of the bees and butterflies and other pollinators find a safe space for the night, another crew heads out on their nightly nectar forays. In many parts of the world, bats are a part of this shift, and some flowers are entirely dependent upon them for providing critical pollination services. But there is another night team that scientists are learning more and more are also important for their work at night – the moths.

Moths may not be on our radar screens, though they certainly are for many insectivorous bats. We might see them gather around our porch lights by the dozens, streetlights by the hundreds, or the monstrous lights at nighttime sporting events by the thousands. But they are also drawn to many species of wildflowers, flowering trees, ornamental plants, and even some agricultural crops. Our overwhelming use of artificial lighting actually draws them away from providing what may be essential ecological services.

The U.S. is home to about 12,000 species of butterflies and moths – together, the Lepidopterans – but only about 800 of those species are butterflies. The other 11,000+ are moths. At the global scale, moth species outnumber species of butterflies by about 9:1, and evidence suggests that butterflies actually evolved from moths to fill that daytime niche. And interestingly, some species of moths are also more active during the daytime. This includes hawkmoths, many of which resemble tiny hummingbirds.

Today, the role of moths as pollinators is still rather understudied. Recent studies in the Mediterranean, Brazil, New Zealand, Europe and North America point to their role being understated as well. Your observations of moths on flowers can help us better understand their role as pollinators.

Keep those observations coming, Lenovo! Thank you for your work!