observations WHEN? WHICH PLANT(S)?
Mon, 06/15/2009 - 19:16 — bpolt
Should observations be made AT THE SAME HOUR of each observation day?
Should they be made of THE SAME PLANT every time?
May I report data from one plant and then make a second report from another plant on the same day?
From the same plant at a later hour?
when to observe
I have instructions, perhaps from last year, that say we'll get notice of the best weekends to observe, and that we should do so between 10 a.m. and noon.
Current instructions seem to ask for observations any time.
When is the best time?
standardization is best
In a perfect world, everyone would sample on the same Saturday at 10:00 am. However, it's more important that it be a warm sunny day than it bee the same date or time. I would much rather have lots of samples that started at different times than fewer samples. It's fairly easy for me to correct for differences in starting times.
Thanks for checking in.
Gretchen
Should observations be made of THE SAME PLANT every time?
bpolt
I asked TWO questions, 6/15/09, above
The second was "Should they be made of THE SAME PLANT every time?"
I think the general instructions to all should perhaps be modified to clarify this, or they should go in a quick addendum to your recent newsletter. With thousands of observers, all should have the same instructions to follow. It's not always easy to just use this site to find answers.
MY GUESS as to the answer is that I could observe different plants on different days, but perhaps your answer will be to use only ONE plant for all observations. Or to name them #1, #2, etc.
Also, some persons were confused about whether to observe ONE FLOWER or ONE PLANT. (You did say one PLANT.) Since my seeds came in the (I believe) final mailing the plants are nowhere near to flowering yet, so I fortunately will be able to follow instructions once they are clear.
I have seen in my own garden that the bees come in greater numbers (to other plants, especially lippia and thyme) when the sun is shining. In the San Francisco Bay Area the sunshine appears after sometime between 10AM and 2 PM most days. 10 am often would be "beeless".
Please strongly consider a rewrite of all instructions (including the new one--15 minutes [or 5 bees]--of observation.) And then send an email to ALL. I know you are busy but I doubt it would take long.