New records of wild bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) from Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country, northern Spain
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Within the framework of the national project Polinizadores: Mejora de conocimiento from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), funded by the Next Generation EU fund through the Spanish Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience, standardized surveys of bees were conducted in Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country (northern Spain) during the 2022–2024 period. Sampling combined pan traps and standardized transect netting in different years across fourteen 1 × 1 km plots representing a wide range of Atlantic and Cantabrian habitats. A total of 75 faunistic novelties were recorded, including 5 species newly recorded for Asturias, 31 for Cantabria and 39 for the Basque Country. Several species records considerably contribute to improving the knowledge of the Atlantic bee fauna of southwestern Europe. The results highlight the importance of standardized monitoring programs combined with expert taxonomic validation for detecting poorly known taxa and refining regional distribution patterns of wild bees.
Language: English
Topic: Plant and animal studies
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225467213