Declining pollinator insect populations have prompted recommendations for pollinator-friendly plants in urban areas. This study uses data from a UK-wide citizen science program (BeeWatch) to assess the accuracy of these recommendations. Comparison of practitioner recommendations (465 pollinator-friendly and 376 bumblebee-friendly plants from 23 sources) with BeeWatch records (334 plants) revealed low correlation (r=0.57 for bumblebees, r=0.52 for pollinators). The study highlights the lack of specificity in recommendations, failing to account for the diverse food plant preferences of different bumblebee species. The authors advocate for dynamic planting recommendations based on live citizen science data, specific to pollinator species, to improve pollinator conservation efforts.

Helen B. Anderson, Annie Robinson, Advaith Siddharthan, Nirwan Sharma, Helen Bostock, Andrew Salisbury, Stuart Roberts, René van der Wal