Author: Robert Brodschneider

In the last days the parcels for citizen scientists were packed! Austrian citizen scientists all have their own pollen traps, so the other material was packed and send together with the picture manual to participants. Among others, it contains the sample bags, beehold tubes and the adapter for placing the beehold tubes in front of the pollen trap. Straws (for harvesting beebread) and stickers to label colonies are also provided. Though not complete yet, the picture below shows the content of the box for Austrian citizen scientists. Aluminium foil and disposable medical gloves may be added too!

In 2019, four different methods to sample pesticides and pollen diversity will be tested and compared in four countries (Austria, Denmark, England, Greece). The tests will be made by citizen scientists, which need three honey bee colonies on one apiary.

Here is a very rough scheme of the study setup!

The materials needed for participants are currently packed and shipped before Easter. Good chance to test the beehold tubes and adapter! As you can see, I put some tape around the adaptor to first make it more stable, and second reduce light in the adapter. I decided not to use black tape, as I was afraid of overheating in summer.

Continue reading “Testing beehold tubes and adapter in Austria before sending it to participants”

The materials needed to participate in INSIGNIA will be send out soon to citizen scientists! Here you can see the picture manual for instruction. It includes a step by step guidance on how to take and store samples, as well as a phenology list of important pollen sources.

For Austrian citizen scientists, the document was translated to German and a spiral binding folder was produced.