Farm visitors urged to help insect survey
Visitors to farms are being asked to take part in a survey of insects to help farmers preserve important pollinators of crops.
The first national farm pollinator survey is being conducted as part of Open Farm Sunday, an annual event in which farmers open their gates to the public to let them see how food is produced. The survey on selected farms will ask visitors to record how many insects they see in a field of oilseed rape and in a wildflower margin.
Members of the public will also be asked to look out for five insects, including the common blue butterfly and the 14-spot ladybird, anywhere on the farm they are visiting.
Experts will use the information from the survey to improve the understanding of the ecology of insects visiting flowers on farms.
Open Farm Sunday takes place on June 17.