Innovative Moth Monitoring: Farmer Citizen Science Using AI

Farmland, covering 67% of England, is crucial in supporting nature recovery, yet good biodiversity data in farmland is often lacking. In this talk, Abigail presents results from a pilot involving 21 farmers across southern England who engaged in moth monitoring on their farms during 2024. Farmers used robust, portable LED light traps to capture moths weekly, and used an innovative AI-based identification app to generate real-time data. She gathered feedback from participants to understand farmer motivations, how this could be supported with effective, personalised feedback, and how the data is influenced by the accuracy of AI-based moth identification.

Dr Abigail Lowe is an Interdisciplinary Ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Her research uses citizen science to understand the interaction of people, nature, and environmental data. Abigail's work focuses on the use of co-design in the development of citizen science projects, ensuring that studies are designed with input from the participants involved.

The 1-hour event will consist of a presentation followed by a Q&A with the tutor using questions provided by the live audience. The presentation will be recorded and made available through the entoLIVE blog alongside a write-up of the Q&A and any links to further info.

entoLIVE is delivered by the Biological Recording Company, British Entomological & Natural History Society, Royal Entomological Society and Amateur Entomologists' Society, with support from Buglife, Field Studies Council and NBN Trust.

This event is a one-off and will not be repeated. If you can't attend the live event, you don't need to miss out. Book a space and once we've processed the event content after the live event you will be sent a link to the content online.