Caterpillars Count!

Caterpillars Count! is a project that relies on citizen scientists (you!) to help understand some of the most important organisms in our ecosystems—caterpillars and other insects—by conducting surveys of the plants and trees around them. These insects are an important food source for birds and other wildlife, and they have economic and environmental impacts on our forests and crops. You can help us understand how the abundance of these bugs varies from rural countrysides to major urban areas, and from coast to coast.

Your observations can also help us track how the abundance of caterpillars and other insects varies over the seasons. The seasonal timing of caterpillar availability is especially important for birds which try to time their spring migration so that there will be lots of insect food around (caterpillars are an especially tasty treat!) to successfully raise their young.

Finally, you can visually explore the data collected by yourself or others to reveal patterns that scientists haven’t even yet discovered!