Pollinator Abundance in European Agricultural Landscapes Across Biogeographic Regions

Pollinator abundance in European agricultural landscapes varies by taxon, crop type, and landscape composition. Honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees, hover flies, and butterflies were studied across 128 sites in eight countries. Higher abundance of honey bees and solitary bees in oilseed rape fields, and hover flies in apple orchards, correlated with landscape heterogeneity and less-intensively managed habitats like woodlands and grasslands. In apple sites, increased orchard proportion reduced total pollinator abundance, especially bumble bees and solitary bees. Temperature and precipitation influenced taxa differently: warmer conditions boosted most insects, but bumble bees declined with higher annual temperatures. Mass-flowering crops and habitat isolation also affected abundance, with complex landscape configurations supporting greater diversity. The study highlights the need for landscape-scale conservation to maintain pollination services under climate and land-use change.