Over the course of a day in late July, citizen scientists joined expert entomologists and TWI staff at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge for a mini-BioBlitz to find as many pollinator species as possible at the site. By the end of the insect adventure, we turned up 277 types of butterflies, bees, flies, moths, wasps, beetles, and other pollinators.
Pollinator BioBlitz participants document species during the tower-to-seep guided hike at the Dixon Refuge. Photo by Vera Leopold/TWI.
Pollinators play an integral role in plant reproduction by transferring pollen when they move from flower to flower while feeding. They’re necessary for healthy native plant communities, as well as much of the food we eat. Unfortunately, many pollinators are declining worldwide due to habitat loss, invasive species, and misuse of pesticides and other chemicals. It takes specialized knowledge to identify many insects and TWI has known little about the full diversity of pollinators that visit the Refuge, so we decided to focus on them exclusively for this BioBlitz.
“We found the federally endangered rusty patched bumble bee during our 2018 Dixon Refuge BioBlitz when we were looking for all kinds of wildlife, and this year we wanted to learn more about other rare pollinators that might be using the site,” said TWI Ecologist Anna Braum. “The first step is to find out if they’re there and which parts of the habitat they’re using. Then we can incorporate that knowledge into our restoration and management efforts to better support those species.”
Guided walks led by experts during the event surveyed several distinct areas of the Refuge: Sandy Hollow, Oak Ridge, the boardwalk between the tower and boat launch, the seep trail, and the Violet Meadow area, which is currently undergoing intensive restoration. The most pollinator diversity was found along the Marquis Oak Ridge Trail, which leads through the heart of the Refuge, but a wide variety of species was discovered in the other areas too.
The federally endangered rusty patched bumble bee found during the Pollinator BioBlitz. Photo by Joseph McDermott.
Of the 277 pollinators observed, so far 181 have been identified at the species level, while the rest have been identified to the level of genus or family. Beetles were the most diverse group found, with 54 species, followed closely by flies, with 53. From the familiar monarch butterfly to the lesser-known hump-backed beewolf wasp, participants found dozens more species. Even a pollinating bird was recorded: a Ruby-throated Hummingbird visiting cardinal flower. And most exciting, the federally endangered rusty patched bumble bee was found near the observation tower by Joseph McDermott, who even managed to get a good photo of it.
“I thought the diversity of what was found in a short amount of time was really incredible,” said Angella Moorehouse, a natural areas preservation specialist with the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and one of the experts leading the BioBlitz. “I think some of the bees were likely overlooked due to time and other constraints, but 54 species of beetles and 53 species of flies is remarkable. We know that bees, butterflies, and moths are more susceptible to environmental changes, so having a wide diversity of other types of pollinators is critical. A diverse group of native pollinators is a good indicator of sustainability for the plant communities.”
Angella Moorehouse and Frank Hitchell set up sheet lighting to survey nighttime pollinators. Photo by Michelle Cordrey.
In addition to Angella, four other experts and enthusiasts contributed their time to help lead the guided walks: Frank Hitchell from the Peoria Academy of Science; Terry Miesle of the Native Bee Awareness Initiative; area resident Rick Ladenburger, whose own pollinator garden is regularly visited by rusty patched bumble bees; and Joseph McDermott of Westmont, who has a special interest in true bugs, ants, and bumble bees.
The night before the BioBlitz officially started, Angella and Frank decided to set up sheet lighting to attract night-flying pollinators. They documented 100 species in just one hour, ranging from white-lined sphinx moth to striped deer fly and brown stink bug.
The next day, the experts were joined by 35 citizen scientists on the guided walks. These participants didn’t need prior knowledge to help with species identification. Anyone could take photos of insects they sighted and upload them to the iNaturalist website project TWI created for the event, where they could subsequently be formally identified.
A white-lined sphinx moth drawn to the sheet lighting. Photo by Angella Moorehouse.
Here at TWI we’re still sifting through the results to learn more about all the pollinators found that day, and we look forward to more BioBlitzes in the future to continue cataloging the Dixon Refuge’s extraordinary biodiversity.
Browse TWI’s Pollinator BioBlitz project on iNaturalist to view the observations that participants uploaded.
Learn more about pollinators and what you can do to help them through the Pollinator Partnership.
Be inspired by this short award-winning documentary about the federally endangered rusty patched bumble bee.