Comparing passive trapping methods for sampling forest pollinators

Insect pollinators have been well studied in agriculture, where they are crucial for crop production. However, little is known about pollinators in forested ecosystems, including the best approaches for sampling. In order to ensure adequate data collection in forest settings, analysis on effective pollinator trapping methods must be done. In agriculture, Blue-vane traps (BVTs) are the most effective form of passive pollinator capture, and we believe the same will hold true for agricultural systems. We collected pollinators in two rounds in the beginning of July and August of 2023 from reference sites in Northern California. They were then sorted and pinned in the lab throughout the 23-24 academic year. In the end, we determined that BVTs were the most prolific in capturing pollinators, with over half of the pollinators collected from both sites being from BVTs. They were followed by yellow pan, white pan, and then blue pan traps, each never having more than 16% of the total pollinators captured. Further evaluation will be done when data is finished being analyzed.