Indicator total biomass Pan Trap Monitoring of Bee Communities

In 2025, 16 sites in Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony were sampled at five phenologically determined dates throughout the year. Generally, a decrease in the total biomass recorded was observed from spring onwards. However, unlike in 2024, the highest values in 2025 were recorded in July. Over 50% of the total biomass recorded in 2025 was determined in that month.

With the data collected up to the present point, the identification of medium- and long-term trends is not yet possible. Further years of data collection are needed to adequately account for interannual variance in the time series.

In 2025, 16 sites in Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony were sampled at five phenologically determined dates throughout the year. Generally, a decrease in the total biomass recorded was observed from spring onwards. However, unlike in 2024, the highest values for the year 2025 were recorded in July. Over 50% of the total biomass recorded in 2025 was determined in that month.
 

Each year, 16 monitoring sites in agricultural landscapes of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony are sampled at several phenologically determined dates. The bee communities are surveyed representatively using fluorescent blue, yellow, and white pan traps. These arable and grassland-dominated sites are among the nationally representative sample plots used by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation for the Ecosystem Monitoring and for the Monitoring of High Nature Value Farmland. Local flowering is recorded concurrently with the pan trap sampling.