Data collected from the Budburst Nativars Campaign (2018-2021) will help understand the health of the pollinator relationship with various “nativars.”
"Nativars" are native plants (plants that have been a part of the ecosystem for hundreds or more years) that we breed to survive tougher conditions or produce more flowers.
Goals of Budburst Nativars Research:
Investigate the flower preferences of native bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Learn if pollinators visit/prefer nativars.
Monitor pollinator visits to each flower.
Why should you care?
Pollinators are essential for life!
Pollinators are organisms that transport pollen from plant to plant, as they feed on nectar.
Pollination is necessary for plant reproduction and ensures that new plants will grow.
Bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths, birds, bats, and other animals can act as pollinators.
Pollinators allow for the production of ALL plant-based food through pollinating flowers!
Climate change, pollution, deforestation, and invasive species have disrupted the lives of pollinators.
Bees are one of the most well known pollinators. They have been dying off in large numbers due to Colony Collapse Disorder.
Bees and other pollinators are responsible for pollinating 1/3 of all the food you eat!
Did you know?
75% of the world's flowering plants and about 35% of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce!
Natives and Nativars
Native plants are plants that have been growing in one place for thousands of years and is part of a healthy ecosystem.
Nativars are cultivated by selective breeding, meaning they are grown in gardens and often different from their wild cousin.
You have the ability to see over 325 different species in a year in the area, both native and migrating visitors from your own neighborhood!
Color, scent, blooming time, and size of flowers are very important to pollinators.
This means that nativars might be more, or less, attractive to pollinators than the wild species!
Northwest Indiana Spring Budburst Nativars
These are the two nativars you would observe in this project.
Budburst citizen scientists work together making careful observations of the timing of plant life cycle events.
The Nativars Campaign is a subproject that researches how nativars differ from one another and from their parent species in seasonal changes and pollinator attractiveness.
How is my data used?
The data can help to learn more about the preferences of local pollinators, so hopefully we can help to save their populations.
Budburst data are freely available for anyone to download and use and have been used by scientists, horticulturists, and educators in the Budburst network to address current research questions. Visit the Publications page for examples of research that includes Budburst data.
Fast Notes
Many different species of pollinators can be seen in Northwest Indiana.
Climate change, pollution, deforestation, and invasive species have disrupted the lives of pollinators.
The Nativars Campaign is a subproject that researches how nativars appeal to pollinator.
Students will need to grow red columbine or foxglove beardtongue plants. They must observe the pollinators visiting these blooming nativars.
Ten minutes for each plant survey, but no frequency requirement.