Nectar Connectors campaign
Greetings!

Welcome to the third year of the Nectar Connectors campaign! Your observations of flowering times for select nectar species will help resource managers like the US Fish & Wildlife Service take necessary steps to conserve and promote habitat for important pollinators. This effort complements the Monarch Joint Venture's Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program to monitor monarchs and their habitats.

Pollinators are an essential part of our environment - they ensure the reproduction of 85% of the world's flowering plants and over two-thirds of our crop species. But pollinators are facing many threats to their food sources from habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. We are seeking to learn more about when and where nectar sources are available for monarchs and other pollinators. 

As part of this campaign, you can expect to receive messages from us with periodic updates on this project over the course of the spring, summer and fall of 2019. 
How to get started
1. If you have not already done so, set up a site and add your plants to it in  Nature's Notebook . To see which species are available for your state, go to The Plants and Animals page, and filter for your state and Nectar Connectors (under Plant Group in the Advanced tab). You can see the full list of Nectar Connectors species, with photos, here .
 
2. Start checking your plants (at least weekly) for flowers or flower buds and open flowers . Note that once you see flowers open, you should continue to report a "yes" for flowers or flower buds as well as for open flowers .

3. Report your observations . Periodically log into your Observation Deck and transfer your observations from your paper data sheet into the online reporting system.

Did you know?  You can enter your observations directly using our mobile apps for Android or Apple devices.
When to start looking for flowers on your plants
Based on observations submitted to  Nature's Notebook in previous years, we expect that flowering of  Nectar Connectors species  begins in March and will continue through the fall for some species. 

However, you should make regular observations of your plants throughout the spring as well until you can better predict when the species you are monitoring will bloom at your location. Multiple flowering periods may be possible, so don't stop monitoring after your first flowering period has ended.

Here are some approximate times for flowering for Nectar Connector species ,  based on observations submitted to  Nature's Notebook  in previous years. Note that flowering time may vary depending on your location.
*Note that this species is considered invasive in some locations

Remember that your "no" reports prior to the first "yes" are very valuable, so start checking your plants now!  In our next message, we'll check in on your reports of Nectar Connectors species to see what you've been reporting on flowering for these species

Earn your Nectar Connectors badge! You can earn this badge by observing a nectar species once a week for six separate weeks in the same year. See it on your Observation Deck .

Thank you for your contributions to this important project!
Contact
Erin Posthumus
erin@usanpn.org
520-621-1670
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