Learn about how global change may be impacting arthropod communities, and about the citizen science project Caterpillars Count! which seeks to develop long-term monitoring sites for better understanding those impacts. You will learn how to explore patterns of arthropod abundance and phenology on our website, and how to set up your own monitoring site.
Caterpillars Count! is a citizen science project for measuring the seasonal variation, also known as phenology, and abundance of arthropods like caterpillars, beetles, and spiders found on the foliage of trees and shrubs. The data you collect on the abundance and phenology of caterpillars and other insects during the growing season (spring and summer) is used by researchers to relate trends in arthropod populations to bird population trends in those same areas, and to better understand how changes in climate and land use impact the plants and animals around us.
