A Safeguard research team recently released two synthesised databases of wild bee and hoverfly records across Europe. The databases comprise more than 4.34 million records for wild bees and 1.04 million records for hoverflies, covering 97% of European bee fauna (2,083 species) and 97% of European hoverfly fauna (886 species).
The databases draw on a wide range of reliable sources, including taxonomists, national experts, museum collections, public repositories, published literature, open-access platforms, and datasets from previous European projects. All collected data were standardised, cleaned, and validated by experts.
The lack of accessible and verified spatial and temporal occurrence records has long hindered efforts to understand and prevent the decline of wild bees and hoverflies. These new databases aim to provide an essential resource for future assessments of population status and trends, habitat associations, and broader conservation initiatives to protect wild pollinators across Europe.