Looking back at our group’s summer activities

This summer took members of our research group and our fieldwork helpers out into fields and grasslands across Estonia. Our most extensive fieldwork this year was carried out as part of the project “Assessment of the Status of Wild Bees in Agricultural Landscapes”, supported by the Environmental Investment Centre. Estonia is home to more than 270 species of wild bees, including bumblebees and solitary bees. From May to August, we conducted fieldwork in five Estonian counties, surveying field islands and margins, ditch banks and grasslands. We are now eagerly awaiting the identification of the collected insects to find out how our wild bees are doing in the landscapes where their contribution as pollinators is particularly important.
We also made our way to the beautiful alvar grasslands of Saaremaa and Muhu. There, we collected plant samples to assess genetic diversity following habitat restoration and surveyed vegetation plots to monitor changes in plant species diversity associated with restoration.
Of course, exciting nature observations do not always require a dedicated field trip. If you are already travelling all the way from Tartu to Saaremaa for the Opera Days or happen to be on holidays on Muhu, you simply have to sneak away to a grassland now and then to check which orchids are in bloom and search for seeds for our German colleagues’ research.

Sometimes, in between agricultural fields, we unexpectedly found ourselves in rather wild places. Photo: Elise Helena Salumäe

We encountered this horned character, which turned out to be a European peacock butterfly caterpillar. Photo: Elise Helena Salumäe

We did, however, find plenty of wild bees … Video: Kärg Valner

… as well as other pollinators, such as hoverflies. Photo: Kärg Valner

During fieldwork, we also met some curious “local stakeholders” responsible for maintaining semi-natural grasslands. Photo: Triinu Pertels

Meanwhile, we tried to convince ourselves that we had not somehow wandered from an alvar grassland into a wetland. Photo: Iris Reinula