Testing the efficacy of artificial flowers as a novel attractant for automated pollinator monitoring

by Ash et al.

Pollinating insects like bees, hoverflies, and wasps are declining worldwide, and tracking their numbers usually requires walking surveys or stationary traps such as pan traps or sticky paper, both of which can be labour-intensive, lethal to insects, and difficult to standardise across different locations. Automated insect camera traps use cameras to record insects in the field without killing them. This a promising alternative for long-term monitoring, but very little research has explored what should be put in front of these cameras to attract insects in to be photographed.
To address this gap, we designed realistic 3D-printed artificial flowers, shaped like buttercups and painted in three UV-reactive colours (yellow, white, and blue). We compared these artificial flowers against two established, non-lethal attractants designed to resemble pan traps and sticky paper. We filmed insect visits to the attractants over several weeks in a UK wildflower meadow, recording whether insects approached or landed on each attractant, which colours they preferred, and how long they stayed.
Overall, insects favoured the artificial flowers over the traditional attractants. Hoverflies and bumblebees, both important pollinators, showed a clear preference for the artificial flowers, with hoverflies landing on them far more often than on the other options. Smaller insects also preferred the flowers, although a couple of groups, including wasps and non-hoverfly flies, favoured the traditional attractants instead. Importantly, insects that did land tended to stay for several seconds, long enough for an automated camera to capture a usable image, with yellow flowers performing especially well for keeping hoverflies and solitary bees in place.
These findings suggest that artificial flowers could offer a more effective, standardised, and non-lethal way to attract key pollinators for automated camera monitoring. This could support wider efforts to track pollinator populations consistently across sites, informing conservation policy and helping safeguard the ecosystem services these insects provide.
 

Read the scientific publication in JPE HERE.