FloraCount
An AI enabled App for Rapid Assessment of Pollinator Attractiveness to Plants
- On this Page
- Materials Needed
- How to Use FloraCount (Step-by-Step)
- About
FloraCount is an AI-enabled tool that rapidly and accurately assesses the floral attractiveness of plants to bees, butterflies, and flies. Designed to deliver reliable results within 10 minutes, FloraCount is user-friendly and requires no formal ecological training. Available as a downloadable app on both the App Store and Google Play Store, FloraCount empowers researchers, conservationists, landscapers, and gardeners to easily evaluate and access information about the attractiveness of ornamental plants.
Materials Needed:
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A 3in x 3in square reference object
Brown cardboard works best, the square can be put on a wooden stick to make it easier to hold.
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FloraCount Credentials
Create an account by visiting the FloraCount registration page. You will need your account credentials to log in to the app. After creating an account, an activation email will be sent to you. Be sure to activate your account within seven days of registration.
How to Use FloraCount
Step 1:
Download the FloraCount app from the App Store or Google Play Store, and log in with your credentials.
Step 2:
Select the Start a New Observation button.
Step 3:
Enter your name in the text box. If you are the only person collecting data for the day, check the box below.
Step 4:
Identify the plant and enter your plant’s genus, species, and cultivar if known.
Step 5:
Holding the phone at eye level directly in front of your face take four landscapes images. Take the first image directly in front of you, then directly to your right, directly behind you, and directly to your left.
Step 6:
Next, you will need a reference object, a 3x3 inch square (brown cardboard works best). Place the reference object next to the flower or hold the reference object next to the flower if is tall so it is fully visible (the 3x3 inch square can be placed on a stick to make it easier to hold). Next, take a photo directly above the plant (1m or 3ft), holding your phone parallel to the ground.
Step 7:
Next you will be brought to the observation time screen. Keep the timer at 10 minutes which is the minimum time needed to accurately access. Now select the Start Observation (Obs) button.
Observe the assigned plant for 10 minutes and record all bees, butterflies, and flies that make contact with the plant. Record your observations by clicking the icons as you see them. All other insects should not be recorded. Keep focused on the plant and do not try to track whether insects leave and re-enter your field of view. If an insect leaves the viewer's field of sight and then re-enters, it must be counted as a new insect. An insect that moves around one clump of flowers should be counted as a single observation. When finished, click the Submit Record button.
Step 8:
Now you can view your floral attractiveness score of your plant. Users can identify which plants are highly attractive to bee, butterflies, and flies.
View Your Records:
To view previous records login to your account on your web browser and select the “records” icon to view ranking. To download a csv file, select “export CSV”.
About FloraCount
There is considerable interest in identifying plants that can support pollinators and integrating these into urban, agricultural and natural landscapes. However, evaluating floral attractiveness is a time-consuming process and it is difficult to scale screening across a diversity of plant types and habitats, particularly in the case of ornamental plant species, where hundreds of new varieties are produced every year. To address this challenge, we developed FloraCount.
FloraCount evaluates attractiveness through three measurements: a 10-minute visitation observation, floral area calculations from the focal plant, and landscape images of the surrounding habitat. By significantly reducing the time needed to evaluate floral attractiveness, integrating information on surrounding habitat quality, and providing a standardized data storage platform, FloraCount supports the needs of the ornamental plant industry, scientists, gardeners, landscape architects, and conservationists.