Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 3 hrs ago
Most European wild bees still exist, but their ranges have shrunk
A century of records shows most European wild bee species still survive, but many now live across smaller areas.
Researchers led by Carlos Martínez-Núñez of Spain’s Doñana Biological Station studied more than four million records of bees and hoverflies collected across Europe from 1921 to 2020.
The records cover 88 percent of the continent’s known species, but uneven collecting meant the team could estimate trends for only about 40 percent of species.
Tracked bee species lost an average of about a third of their range over the century, though the pattern varied by region.
The researchers describe a reshuffling: some sensitive species are declining while a few resilient species are spreading.
Shrinking ranges can warn of environmental change before species disappear, even when a count of surviving species looks stable.
The study does not set out a next step.
Nearly all European wild bee species recorded over the past century still exist somewhere today.
Most tracked bee species occupy less of Europe than they did in 1921.
On average, bee occupancy fell by 34 percent over the century.
The study describes the change as a reshuffling of species, with some declining and a few resilient species spreading.
Researchers used more than four million records of wild bees and hoverflies collected across Europe.
- Who
- Researchers led by Carlos Martínez-Núñez of the Doñana Biological Station in Sevilla.
- What
- A study found that nearly all European wild bee species persist, but most tracked species have lost range.
- When
- The records cover 1921 to 2020.
- Where
- Across Europe.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The study's record period begins.
At least one record exists for about 91 percent of the species in the dataset.
The study's record period ends.
- Bee range change
- Average occupancy fell by 34 percent since 1921
- Study records
- More than four million
- Record period
- 1921–2020
- Bee species covered
- 1,898
- Hoverfly species covered
- 784
What people are saying
Species may still be present, but their declining occupancy can provide an early warning of broader environmental change, long before they become extinct,