CCSiC Fellow Spotlight: #iluvbugs! observing backyard biodiversity after dark

Backyard biodiversity represents an opportunity for exposure to nature

Scan your eyes through your backyard or a city garden and you’ll get a snapshot of a biological community in time. At first glance, your eyes may alight on a cluster of colorful flowers or a bumble bee busily moving from bloom to bloom. With luck, you may see a bird or two snacking on the unseen arthropods or tiny seeds ferried about by wind or animal. Much of the biodiversity in your backyard is actively hiding from you—or your vertebrate peers—through miraculous camouflage. Using the naked eye is an inefficient way to search for such creatures as they have a millenia head start in blending into the background. But how do entomologists (insect scientists) and their naturalist forebearers find the insects they study? Surely there’s a better way!

An entomologist’s bug-finding tool kit includes wacky-sounding apparatuses such as “pooters” (devices designed to suck insects into vials) and “malaise traps” (tents which funnel flying insects up into a collection jar). Another way entomologists collect insects—especially moths—is through light-trapping. At its core, this process involves setting up a bright light in front of a white backdrop after dark. Another way to use light in the service of finding insects is to use an ultraviolet flashlight and pan through tree canopies or mid- and understory vegetation. Some insects have exoskeletons which will absorb this UV light and re-emit it back as visible light. Camouflage deactivated!

Bringing the tools of entomological research to citizen scientists

Observing backyard biodiversity not only promotes a curiosity of the natural world, but also provides a chance for the public to engage in scientific research and mass data collection. University-collected, long-term surveys of insect populations have given scientists glimpses into what has been heralded as the “insect apocalypse,” but the problem is not easily quantifiable in the absence of spatially and temporally vast data. Citizen scientist-collected biodiversity data offer a way to mend this gap while also lifting the veil of inaccessibility surrounding scientific research. In sum, biodiversity data collection is a win-win for the public and scientists alike.

To demonstrate light trapping and UV insect surveying to the public, I designed an exhibit for UC Davis’ annual open house, Picnic Day, and led a nighttime bioblitz. For Picnic Day, we placed insects and arthropods into a viewing box with an UV flashlight trained on them. Their exoskeletons glowed brightly under the light. The exhibit sparked interest in our entomological methods and served as a way to advertise for the main event—#iluvbugs X City Nature Challenge BioBlitz. During this event, participants gathered as dusk turned into dark. I projected several YouTube videos describing fluorescence in nature on a white bed sheet which later morphed into a light trap. Participants walked through the UC Davis Arboretum with UV and regular flashlights as well as collection vials. They were asked to take pictures of the flora and fauna they saw within its natural habitat and were given the opportunity to bring back insects for closer study under a digital microscope located at “home base.” The citizen scientists uploaded their photographs to the platform iNaturalist for automatic inclusion in the City Nature Challenge, a global event encouraging observations and records of biodiversity.

Gradual release of responsibility

This project leverages the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) teaching model, also known as the “I do, we do, you do” model, to shift the task of observing and tracking biodiversity onto citizen scientists in an empowering rather than onerous way. Facilitators and participants move along two parallel paths. Participants begin as observers, watching the facilitator model the best practices, then the two parties practice with each other eventually culminating in a role reversal where the participants practice in groups while the facilitator observes and provides feedback. Within this context, the Picnic Day event in its entirety and the demonstration at the #iluvbugs X City Nature Challenge BioBlitz represent phase 1 of this model: participants watched as my colleagues and I described the science behind fluorescence and how to find insects with UV flashlights. The second part of the #iluvbugs event, walking the arboretum in small groups and returning to “home base” to report findings, is a good example of phase 2 of the GRR model. Armed with the iNaturalist app and the skills for finding insects on their own, phase 3 of this project occurs without supervision wherever participants choose to collect data. 

In the future, I hope to partner with local libraries to create “bug hunting kits” (UV flashlights, butterfly nets, field guides, etc.) to lessen the barriers for interested citizen scientists to participate in biodiversity monitoring. For more information, please visit:

• Amateur Entomologist’s Society’s glossary of insect terminology
• University of Florida/IFAS Extension’s resource on “mothing”
• Florida Museum of Natural History’s deep dive into insects and UV light and tips for creating a light trap