BeeWalk Survey Scheme

Data use and publications

BeeWalk was established with the aims of collecting abundance and distribution data on all Britain’s bumblebee species and using this data as widely as possible (particularly to analyse population trends). Once cleaned, validated, and verified, the dataset is added to the online data-sharing platform Figshare, where it is available for anyone to use as long as the scheme is credited as the source, anyone can access the whole dataset by clicking here. The dataset is also added to the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), where they are displayed alongside similar data from other sources. 

Annual reports 

2023 BeeWalk Annual Report 

BeeWalk 10 Year Report (2022)

2021 BeeWalk Annual Report 

2020 BeeWalk Annual Report 

2019 BeeWalk Annual Report 

2018 BeeWalk Annual Report 

2017 BeeWalk Annual Report 

Scientific journal publications 

These papers all benefitted significantly from BeeWalk data, Trust Science Manager Dr Richard Comont co-authored several.

Concern for cuckoo bumblebees (Bombus subgenus Psithyrus): addressing our lack of knowledge. Journal of Insect Conservation, 2023. 

Authors: Bower, R., Bulling, M., Norton, B.

The effects of climate and land use on British bumblebees: Findings from a decade of citizen-science observations. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2022.

Authors: Whitehorn, P.R., Seo, B., Comont, R.F., Rounsevell, M., and Brown, C.

Pollinator monitoring more than pays for itself. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2021. 

Authors: Breeze T.D., Bailey A.P., Balcombe K.G., Brereton T., Comont R.F., Edwards M., Garratt M.P., Harvey M., Hawes C., Isaac N., Jitlal M., Jones C., Kunin W.E., Lee P., Morris R.K.A., Musgrove A., O’Connor R. S., Peyton J., Potts S.G., Roberts S.P.M., Roy D.B., Roy H.E., Tang C.Q., Vanbergen A.J. and Carvell C.

Caste-Specific Demography and Phenology in Bumblebees: Modelling BeeWalk DataJournal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, 2018.

Authors: Matechou, E., Freeman, S.N., and Comont, R.F

The rapid response of foraging bumblebees Bombus spp. to hay meadow restoration in the Yorkshire Dales and Forest of Bowland, UK Conservation Evidence, 2017. 

Authors: Edmonson C., St. Pierre T., Robinson S. & Powell I.

How much flower-rich habitat is enough for wild pollinators? Answering a key policy question with incomplete knowledge. Ecological Entomology, 2015. 

Authors: Dicks, L.V., Baude, M., Roberts, S.P.M., Phillips, J., Green, M. and Carvell, C.

Reports and databases the BeeWalk team and dataset has fed into:

Establishing a UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership (PMRP). Final report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Scottish Government, Welsh Government and JNCC: Project BE0125. 2017-2019. 

Establishing a UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research partnership (PMRP). Progress Report October 2018. 

UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research partnership (PMRP). Progress Report October 2020. 

UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research partnership (PMRP). Progress Report January 2020. 

Design and testing of a national pollinator and pollination monitoring framework. Wallingford, NERC/Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, 2016. 

State of Nature Report 2019 and The State of Nature 2019. The State of Nature partnership. 

National Pollinator Strategy for England

Pollinator Strategy for Scotland

Action Plan for Pollinators in Wales 

Database of Pollinator Interactions DoPI