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Jennifer M G Shelton¹, Ben A Woodcock¹, Lindsay Newbold¹

¹UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, United Kingdom.

|May 20, 2026

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This summary is machine-generated.

A national citizen science platform uses honey bee biomonitoring and environmental DNA (eDNA) to track floral resources across the UK. This cost-effective approach provides crucial data on land use and pollinator health.

Area of Science:

Ecology
Environmental Science
Citizen Science

Background:

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) act as central place foragers, integrating environmental data over large spatial scales.
Large-scale biomonitoring of bees is vital for understanding environmental impacts and informing policy but faces practical implementation challenges.
Existing monitoring networks are often limited to small-scale experimental studies, hindering national-level insights.

Purpose of the Study:

To establish a national, citizen science-led honey bee biomonitoring platform for cost-effective, large-scale ecological monitoring.
To quantify spatial and temporal patterns in honey bee foraging resources using environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis.
To create a benchmark for assessing floral resource availability for broader pollinator communities and informing land-use and environmental policies.

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Main Methods:

Recruited over 3,500 citizen scientist beekeepers across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland to contribute 5,789 honey samples from 2018-2025.
Utilized environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis of honey samples to identify plant species and quantify foraging patterns.
Collected samples primarily between May and October, noting land use origins (agricultural, urban, forest, extensively managed).

Main Results:

eDNA analyses from 2018-2022 revealed significant temporal and spatial variation in honey bee diets.
Brassicas, clovers, and brambles were identified as dominant floral resources, with notable consumption of invasive plant species.
Data indicated diverse foraging across agricultural, urban, suburban, and forest landscapes.

Conclusions:

The citizen science and eDNA approach enables cost-effective, nationwide ecological monitoring at an unprecedented scale.
The platform provides valuable data for interpreting land-use change, agri-environmental policy effectiveness, and climate-driven shifts in flowering resources.
Archived samples offer future research potential for invasive species, bee pathogens, and chemical exposure assessments.