Recent publications using recording scheme data

First publication of trends for pollinating insect groups

The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) reached an important milestone in June with the publication of the first Official Statistic in Development on pollinating insect trends. This presents trends for pollinating insect groups, based on the PoMS data for Great Britain during the period 2017 to 2024. The trends show worrying declines in some insect groups for this time period, especially for hoverflies. However, the picture is more mixed in some of the other species groups, where trends have been stable or increasing in some cases.

Recent research papers

• Agnoux, S., Fontaine, B., Dozières, A., et al. 2026. Contribution of citizen sciences to the production of butterfly species long-term trends. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 19(4), 828–844. https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.70066 [Data from butterfly monitoring schemes in France and UK.]
• Bloomfield, J.P., Bowler, D.E., Gripenberg, S. & Harvey, M.C. 2026. Citizen science data reveals that earlier and shorter flight periods correlate with climate warming in the dark-edged bee-fly. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.70114 [Data sources include the Bee-fly Watch project from the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme.]
• Chowdhury, S., Aich, U., Antão, L.H. et al. 2026. Extensive climate-induced range shifts in butterflies across the globe. Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03117-y [Draws on published research and expert opinion from around the world.]
• Colom, P., Tejeda, A., Bonelli, S., et al. 2026. The Interplay of Climate Change, Urbanisation, and Species Traits Shapes European Butterfly Population Trends. Global Ecology and Biogeography 35, no. 2: e70204. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.70204 [Data from European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.]
• Cooke, R., Burton, V.J., Brown, C., et al. 2026. Future scenarios for British biodiversity under climate and land-use change. Nature Communications 17, 2704. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70064-4 [Data sources include Breeding Birds Survey, National Plant Monitoring Scheme, UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.]
• Evans, L.C., Burgess, M.D., Potts, S.G., et al. 2026. Assessing direct effects of insect change on insectivore populations in the United Kingdom. Biodiversity Conservation 35, 134. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-026-03329-5 [Data sources include Breeding Birds Survey, National Bat Monitoring Programme, Rothamsted Insect Survey, UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, Environment Agency and Environmental Change Network.]
• Johnson, A.C., Outhwaite, C.L., Isaac, N.J.B., et al. 2026. What has happened to river macroinvertebrate biodiversity in England and Wales over the past 30 years? Journal of Environmental Management, 401, 128954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.128954 [Data sources include a range of national recording schemes covering aquatic invertebrates.]
• Li, M., Bennie, J., Roy, D.B., et al. 2026. Systematic differences in phenology estimates from unstructured and structured biodiversity datasets. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.70098 [Data sources: records from UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and from iRecord Butterflies app.]
• Li, M., ffrench-Constant, R. H.. Bennie, J., et al. 2026. Causal Analysis Reveals That Public Access to Land Can Shape Our View of Species' Geographic Distributions. Diversity and Distributions 32, no. 7: e70242. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.70242 [Data source: records from iRecord Butterflies app.]
• Peyton, J. M., Rorke, S., Aldridge, D. C., et al. 2026. Assessing the success of a horizon scanning approach in predicting invasive non-native species arrival. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63, e70217. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.70217 [Drew on data and expert advice from numerous recording schemes.]
• Rigal, S., Lenormand, M., Tardieu, L. et al. 2026. Predicted decline in common bird and butterfly species even under conservation policy scenarios in Europe. Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03139-6 [Data sources: Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme and European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.]
• Riva, F., Schmucki, R., Cooke, R., et al. 2026. Addressing Gaps in Butterfly Population Monitoring to Catalyze Global Insect Conservation. Conservation Letters 19, no. 2: e70037. https://doi.org/10.1111/con4.70037 [Data sources include UKBMS and other partners in the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.]