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A range of beginner surveys and ID guides to help you monitor plants and pollinators.
If you want to start monitoring your local plants and the animals that help pollinate them, we have gathered a variety of surveys from UK wildlife organisations that are easy for beginners. We also have links to helpful identification guides.
Download the full list (PDF 1.1MB), or browse the highlights below.
Nature Recording Hub
Discover how to record the wildlife in your urban environment.
Plant and pollinator surveys and ID guides sheet
Download the full list of plant and pollinator surveys and ID guides
Highlighted surveys
🌼 Nature's Calendar - Plants
Woodland Tust
Report the first flowering of a selection of plants, shrubs and grasses, as well as a range of events relating to trees.
These events are recorded each year to help track the impact of climate change and weather on our wildlife.
Equipment: None
🌼 Flower-Insect Timed Counts
UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
Carry out a 10 minute count of the number of pollinators visiting a flower from a list of 14 target flowers. The survey can be done in good weather any time between between April and September.
Survey guidance and forms are provided and you can upload your results through the website or the app.
Equipment: Some 50cm long sticks (or similar) and the survey forms.
🐝 Nature's Calendar - Insects
Woodland Tust
Report your first sightings of a select list of butterflies, ladybirds, bees and wasps each year to help track the impact of climate change and weather on these insects.
Equipment: None
🦋 Big Butterfly Count
Butterfly Conservation
Count butterflies and day-flying moths for 15 minutes during sunny weather in the survey period. Check the Big Butterfly Count website for the survey dates each year.
You can download an ID guide and submit your results through the app.
Equipment: none - just the ID guide provided.
🐝 Polli:Nation Survey
OPAL/Imperial college
A survey for pollinators before and after making habitat improvements to your green space. The project data collection has closed, but you can still use the survey methodology and resources to carry out this survey.
Equipment: Tape measure, quadrat, thermometer, stopwatch, camera, survey forms.
Useful ID guides
🦋 Terrestrial invertebrate guide
Natural History Museum
A downloadable guide to the common UK invertebrate groups. Includes a handy summary table of key characteristics and clear illustrations.
🐝 Common UK bumblebees
Natural History Museum
An easy to use guide to the six most common UK bumblebees.
🦋 Pollinator Identification
Buglife
This chart (a PDF booklet) can be used to help you identify some of the different groups of invertebrates that visit your wildflowers.
For the purpose of the guide, invertebrates are categorised into six groups: bumblebees, honeybee and solitary bees, hoverflies and other flies, beetles, butterflies and moths, and wasps.