Wärmeliebende Insekten als Zeiger des Klimawandels – Beispiele und Potenziale bürgerwissenschaftlicher Arterfassungen

Thermophilic insect species as indicators of climate change – examples and capabilities of biodiversity monitoring with citizen science // We present a citizen science project used to examine the occurrence of two thermophilic insect species, the Charpenter Wood Bee (Xylocopa violacea) and the White-spotted rose beetle (Oxythyrea funesta) within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Rhön. Both insect species proved to be reliable model organisms for citizen science due to their striking appearance and unambiguous determinability. Both warm-adapted species now occur in the northern Bavarian low mountain range, but avoid the cooler areas of higher altitudes. We present our experience on contacting citizen scientists and their motivation for taking part in such conservation projects Future assessments of these characteristic insects easily determinable by laymen could help gaining further knowledge about the suitability of the two species as climate change indicators.