Volunteer nature data collectors meeting 2024
About the event
In spring 2024, the Volunteer nature data collectors meeting was held at the Hungarian Natural History Museum organized by Herman Ottó Institute Nonprofit Ltd. with the participation of 26 programs. The event provided an opportunity for nature and ecology-themed programs to introduce themselves and meet with the general public. At the event, as a representative of izeltlabuak.hu, I was able to present the website's capabilities at a separate stand.
The izeltlabuak.hu stand at the Volunteer nature data collectors meeting
The izeltlabuak.hu website primarily focuses on arthropods found in Hungary. This entry also deals with Hungarian fauna.
The stand with visitors
The meeting was held on Sunday, April 7th, on an unusually warm day for this time of year. On that day, admission to the Museum was free, so interested visitors could visit not only the data collection program stands but also the entire Museum free of charge. This facilitated that many visitors could get acquainted with domestic nature data collection opportunities. The participating programs welcomed visitors with various activities, games, and presentations. I was particularly pleased to personally meet registered users with whom I had already spoken a lot, but had never met in person.
Our games
At the izeltlabuak.hu stand, I gladly welcomed every interested visitor. I told them about the website's structure, previous results, and plans. They could try data recording on-site and play our species identification game, which I created specifically for the event. Those who tried data recording on-site or played our species identification game could participate in our prize game, where we drew a giant stag beetle crocheted by Dóri horgolta as the main prize. The drawing took place on Friday of the following week, and the lucky winner was Kornélia Kurucz, to whom we delivered the crocheted stag beetle. Congratulations on the prize!
Our species identification game
Crocheted stag beetle, the prize
Live insects
To highlight the importance of data collection on the platform, visitors could also view two live insects. Both were first recorded on izeltlabuak.hu for their first natural occurrence in Hungary, from where we learned about their domestic appearance.
One is the ragweed leaf beetle (Ophraella communa). Márk Lukátsi and Dávid Horváth noticed the observation recorded by Dénes Tomaschek during the identification of observations. As a result, they traveled to the site where they found live specimens. These were placed in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, and the result was published in 2020 in Folia Entomologica Hungarica - Rovartani Közlemények under the title First record of Ophraella communa in Hungary (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Since then, the species has been found from several locations around Budapest and from the eastern part of the country. Based on foreign examples, the beetle can effectively suppress ragweed.
- all user observations of the ragweed leaf beetle
- distribution of the ragweed leaf beetle in Hungary
- temporal observations of the ragweed leaf beetle
The other animal presented was a bug, Perillus bioculatus which has not yet received a Hungarian name. The animal is predatory, a natural enemy of the Colorado potato beetle larva. For defense against the pest, several attempts have been made to introduce it in Hungary, but none of the experiments were successful. Similar to the ragweed leaf beetle, we learned about its natural appearance in Hungary through observations recorded on izeltlabuak.hu. Its first specimen was recorded by Anna Kőszegi in September 2023. Since then, its occurrence has been reported from several points in Hungary. The animal is clearly spreading in our country.
Leptinotarsa decemlineata - burgonyabogár
The bug is not picky. As food, it does not only consume Colorado potato beetle larvae. I brought a leaf beetle larva to the event, hoping to demonstrate the bug's feeding on-site. I specifically searched for the leaf beetle larva because it is taxonomically close to the Colorado potato beetle. My attempt was successful, the bug immediately attacked it, inserted its proboscis and began feeding on it. The process lasted for hours, so event visitors could observe it thoroughly.
*Perillus bioculatus feeding on leaf beetle larva
I consider the Volunteer nature data collectors meeting a very good initiative. It's an excellent opportunity to popularize community data collection and build its community. I thank the organizers for the event and the Natural History Museum for providing the venue. I hope it becomes a regular gathering.