Biogeography and ecology of European bees

Bees are among the most important pollinator groups. They are threatened by global changes and
knowledge of their distribution and ecology at the national and continental levels is needed to
implement efficient conservation actions, but this knowledge is still fragmented and/or difficult to
access. As a step forward, we present here an updated list of >2,000 European bee species, including
their distributional status at the national level (in the form of present, absent, regionally extinct,
possibly extinct or non-native). This work was attainable by incorporating both published and
unpublished data, as well as knowledge from a large set of taxonomists and ecologists in both groups.
After providing the first National species lists for bees for many countries, we examine the distributional
patterns of these species and designate the countries with highest-level of species richness. We also
show that many species are recorded in a single European country, highlighting the importance of
articulating European and national conservation strategies. Finally, we will give a global overview on
the knowledge on important morphological and ecological traits. We will discuss how the data provided
here can be combined with future trait and Red List data to implement research that will further
advance pollinator conservation.