UK Nature and Environment

New Official Statistics on insect pollinators have been published from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) during Insect Week 2026. The data collected every year across Great Britain (GB) between 2017 and 2024 show a mixed picture for pollinators across the survey methods and a wide range of insect groups, with hoverflies declining by around a third in both their abundance and number of species recorded during this time, signalling possible risks to the health of our ecosystems.

More than 3,000 dedicated volunteers have contributed data to PoMS, with the new statistics representing surveys from nearly 3,500 sites across the countryside and gardens.

The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) monitors the abundance of up to 18 insect groups across three surveys. The hoverflies, a key target group for the scheme, showed the most consistent declines of between 26% to 37% over eight years (2017-2024). Often overlooked, hoverflies are vital pollinators, known to visit at least 52% of global food crops and 70% of animal-pollinated wildflowers. Whilst this represents a significant decline for hoverflies, the PoMS results show a mixed picture for other insect groups, with some showing no change and other groups increasing since 2017.