Insector: Bee friendlys Smart insect monitoring
by Michael Watson (comments: 0
If you want to know how high the biodiversity is in a particular place today, you need time, money and sometimes a bit of scrupulousness. Especially when it comes to counting insects, we still have to resort to spartan methods in which insects perish in so-called “dead traps” or entomologists have to laboriously catch and identify insects. Both methods have obvious disadvantages: In terms of insect mortality, it seems questionable to further decimate the insect population with dead traps. And highly trained entomologists - with the corresponding hourly wages - cannot be on site 24/7 to count insects. What we need is an automated insect monitoring system that collects and analyzes data in high spatial and temporal resolution.
With the support of the Fraunhofer “Innovative and Applied” ideas competition, we are developing and testing an insect monitoring system for green facades as part of the “WildData” project, together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, which can recognize, count and classify insects with the help of artificial intelligence: the Insector. The Insector can reliably monitor the diversity and abundance of insects over long periods of time and thus make statements about the condition of the local ecosystem. The Insector can make the effectiveness of nature conservation measures measurable both in green facades and as a stand-alone solution!

What do I care what kind of insects are buzzing around my house?
Horned mason bee, yellow-loose-strife sand bee, and velvet-toothed leafcutter bee: do we really need all of them? In Germany alone, there are between 500 and 600 wild bee species. For some wild bee species, such as the horned mason bee, we know that it is not endangered and its population is stable. However, for the vast majority of wild bee species, we simply do not have enough data to make reliable statements about their threat status. Simply put: we don’t know exactly how the biodiversity of most insects stands.
This might initially sound interesting only to insect enthusiasts, but in light of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), companies are inevitably required to engage with this very issue. This is because insects form the foundation of entire ecosystems, and by observing so-called indicator insects, statements about the ecological state of a given location can be made. And this very information is requested in the CSRD report section “Biodiversity and Ecosystems” (ESRS E4), which companies must publish every year.
Quantifying biodiversity for the CSRD report
Essentially, we want to make nature conservation measurable. Those who implement nature conservation measures today often do not know whether the measure actually has a positive effect on biodiversity. Whether it's a bee hotel, wildflower meadow, green façade or green roof: Bee friendly's Insector monitoring system allows diversity and abundance to be mapped in real time so that adjustments can be made if necessary.
If gardeners knew, for example, that many garden leafcutter bees were still flying, they could wait before pruning. If local authorities knew how insect populations develop over the years, environmental protection regulations could be adapted locally. If companies knew which nature conservation measures work in a measurable way, they could save money and no longer have to worry about greenwashing accusations.
Insector: Creating knowledge, protecting nature
The “WildData” research project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP is just the beginning of the Insector. In this project, we want to quantify biodiversity in façade greening systems. Later on, we would like to use our insect monitoring system to support companies and researchers in creating knowledge and protecting nature. The overarching goal is to create a reliable data basis so that nature conservation measures can be implemented more effectively and efficiently everywhere. That is why we are pursuing an open source and open data approach with our insect monitoring system. This means that we actively share our data with research institutes, among others. We hope that we can contribute to insect conservation in this way.
Tracking biodiversity with teamwork
Without the dedicated support of committed partners, this project would not have been possible. A special thanks goes to Maximilian Sittinger, who laid the foundation for Insector and has been supporting us with advice and assistance from the very beginning. Additionally, we would like to thank Dr. Pia Krause at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, Dr. Larysa Gorlier at the Technical University of Bingen, Kathrin Scharsich at the State Teaching and Experimental Institute for Horticulture in Heidelberg, Andreas Niemöller at the Ecological Teaching Garden of IB in Mannheim, Dr. Katharina Schneeberg at the Palatinate Museum of Natural History in Bad Dürkheim, and Jeremy Ries from Lessmore.