The SPRING project contributes to the future European Pollinator Monitoring Plan

Grandfathers and grandmothers tell how when they used to cycle in the summer evenings they had to close their eyes and mouths to avoid swallowing flies and mosquitoes. They also say that every now and then they had to clean the windscreen of the car because it was full of squashed insects - and then cars did not run very fast! 

Older people are aware that there used to be a lot of butterflies and all kinds of insects flying around, and that now they are less and less common. But how can we count this population decline if we don't even know all the species and populations of insects in Catalonia and Europe? 

Pollinating insects are threatened by multiple factors such as habitat loss, intensive agriculture, the use of pesticides and climate change, among others, and their disappearance endangers the proper functioning of ecosystems and, moreover, human food. 

According to the IUCN European Red List, approximately one in three species of wild bees, butterflies and syrphids (flies camouflaged as bees or wasps) is in decline, and one in ten is threatened with extinction. While these figures are already alarming, the lack of detailed data on the distribution of European bees suggests that the actual proportion of endangered species may be even higher, especially in the Mediterranean region. “Except for the results of butterfly monitoring (eBMS), there are no precise data on the status of pollinator populations across Europe”, adds Anselm Rodrigo, CREAF researcher and co-director of the GEIP. Faced with this situation, in 2020 the European Union proposed the European Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EUPoMS). This ambitious plan aimed to harmonise the systematic monitoring of the status and trends of pollinators (butterflies, syrphids and wild bees) across the continent, in order to obtain solid information on wild pollinator populations in EU countries and, in this way, design and implement effective policies to address biodiversity loss. 

Between 2021 and 2023, the mission of the SPRING project has been to test and improve this monitoring scheme (EUPoMS) to make it more efficient and applicable to all member states. In the case of the Atlantic-Mediterranean region (France, Spain and Portugal), the insect ecology and pollination ecology group of CREAF and the Museum of Natural Sciences of Granollers have coordinated the project and, thanks to more than a hundred volunteers, have completed 234 samplings. 

“One of the main axes of the SPRING project has been to train and bring pollinators closer to the public through the organisation of basic, intermediate and advanced courses in taxonomy and species identification”, explains Iraima Verkaik, CREAF researcher and technical coordinator of PIPOL. In collaboration with other projects such as Orbit and Taxo Fly, training materials have been developed to make up for the lack of information, especially in relation to wild bees and hoverflies. 

In addition, SPRING has tested complementary methods such as DNA analysis of Malaise trap samples or the implementation of light traps to identify moths by imaging. Finally, SPRING has succeeded in expanding the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (eBMS) to six new EU countries. 

Taking into account the data and knowledge generated by SPRING and other projects, the EUPoMS has been updated with some improved methodological options for standardised monitoring of wild pollinators (wild bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths). "However, there are still uncertainties about how to obtain reliable and standardised data at European level. What is clear is the need to increase taxonomic capacity and knowledge about wild pollinators, as well as to integrate their biological and ecosystem value in the implementation of policies at European Union and national level", says CREAF researcher Jordi Bosch. 

The European Union's initiative on pollinators establishes the actions to be taken by member states to try to reverse the decline of wild pollinators by 2030. In this context, the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, through the Natural Heritage and Biodiversity Strategy of Catalonia 2030, has launched the Intersectoral Plan for Wild Pollinators in Catalonia (PIPOL), which, among other measures, also proposes to carry out standardised monitoring of butterflies, bees and hoverflies. This strategic plan aims to coordinate actions to preserve and raise awareness of Catalonia's wild pollinators and the ecosystem services they provide until 2030. The implementation of the PIPOL has started with a detailed report on the status and threats to pollinators in Catalonia. Standardised monitoring will not only provide information on trends in pollinator populations, but will also provide information on the status of wild pollinators in Catalonia and the ecosystem services they provide until 2030.