The Budding Botanist: At-home Ecology

By: Michelle Cyr, Youth and Family Programs Manager

What life does my backyard support?

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden studies the interactions between plants and animals. This relationship between organisms, known as ecology, helps us better understand and protect the natural world. You don’t need a lab or fancy equipment to observe ecology in your backyard or neighborhood. To explore the insects in your area, try out this method that is utilized by scientists and researchers all over the world.

DIY Insect Survey

Insects, like plants, are the main food source for many creatures, and understanding which plants best support them is an important step to creating a healthy habitat. The beat-sheeting method of collecting insects uses very few materials, making it a very handy technique to use in the field.

Materials

• 1 light-colored sheet (e.g.: a piece of an old bed sheet, a towel, a large piece of paper, an open notebook)

• Long stick (optional)

• 1 notebook to log your findings (optional)

• 1 hand lens to view insects (optional)

Directions

• Locate a plant that you would like to examine.

• Lay out your sheet flat on the ground so it is directly under the plant. If you are surveying a tree, you may need to have one or two helpers lift the sheet, so it is more directly underneath the foliage.

• Grab hold of a branch that is above your sheet and shake it vigorously (while being careful not to damage your plant), so that any insects on the branch will be knocked off. You may also use a stick to carefully rustle or “beat” the branch.

• Check out what’s fallen onto your sheet. If you don’t know the specific species, you can categorize them by groups such as beetles, flies, ants, etc. Record your observations in your notebook.

• Repeat this method on other plants to get an idea of what other insects the landscape is supporting.

Want to learn more about the insects you’ve observed? Take a photo and upload it to the iNaturalist app or website for identification and to contribute to one of the largest community science projects in the country.