At a time when nature conservation has become essential to ensure the long-term sustainability of our environment, it is widely acknowledged that conservation actions must be implemented within a solid taxonomic framework. In preparation for the upcoming update of the IUCN Red List, we here update the European checklist of the wild bees (sensu the IUCN geographical framework). The original checklist, published in 2014, was revised for the first time in 2017. In the present revision, we add one genus, four subgenera and 67 species recently described, 40 species newly recorded since the latest revision (including two species that are not native to Europe), 26 species overlooked in the previous European checklists and 63 published synonymies. We provide original records for eight species previously unknown to the continent and, as original taxonomic acts, we provide three new synonyms, we consider two names as nomina nuda, ten names as nomina dubia, three as species inquirenda, synonymize three species and exclude 40 species from the previous checklist. Around a hundred other taxonomic changes and clarifications are also included and discussed. The present work revises the total number of genera for IUCN Europe to 77 and the total number of species to 2,138. In addition to specifying the taxonomic changes necessary to update the forthcoming Red List of European bees, we discuss the sampling and taxonomic biases that characterise research on the European bee fauna and highlight the growing importance of range expansions and species invasions.

Pollinators play a crucial role in ecosystems globally, ensuring the seed production of most flowering plants. They are threatened by global changes and knowledge of their distribution at the national and continental levels is needed to implement efficient conservation actions, but this knowledge is still fragmented and/or difficult to access. As a step forward, we provide an updated list of around 3000 European bee and hoverfly species, reflecting their current distributional status at the national level (in the form of present, absent, regionally extinct, possibly extinct or non‐native). This work was attainable by incorporating both published and unpublished data, as well as knowledge from a large set of taxonomists and ecologists in both groups. After providing the first National species lists for bees and hoverflies for many countries, we examine the current distributional patterns of these species and designate the countries with highest levels of species richness. We also show that many species are recorded in a single European country, highlighting the importance of articulating European and national conservation strategies. Finally, we discuss how the data provided here can be combined with future trait and Red List data to implement research that will further advance pollinator conservation.

Long-horned bees (Apidae, Eucerini) are found in different biomes worldwide and include some important crop pollinators. In the Western Hemisphere, Eucerini received extensive taxonomic study during the twentieth century, resulting in several revisions of its genera. In contrast, progress on eucerine phylogenetic research and the genus-level classification has been slow, primarily due to the relatively homogeneous external morphology within the tribe and the rarity of many of its species in collections. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenetic study of Eucerini based on ultraconserved elements, including 153 species from nearly all genera and subgenera and from all biogeographic regions where they occur. Many of these specimens are from museums and were collected as far back as 1909. We discuss the challenges of working with specimens with highly degraded DNA, present insights into improving phylogenetic results for both species-tree and concatenation approaches, and present a new pipeline for UCE curation (Curation of UltraconseRved Elements—CURE). Our results show the existence of seven main lineages in Eucerini and most of the genera and subgenera to be reciprocally monophyletic. Using a comprehensive and up-to-date phylogenetic framework, we: (1) propose taxonomic changes, including a new subtribal classification and reorganized generic and subgeneric limits; (2) estimate divergence times; and (3) conduct a detailed exploration of historical biogeography of long-horned bees. We find that eucerine lineages expanded their range onto most continents only after their initial diversification in southern South America during the Eocene.

Summary. This work presents a first taxonomic revision of the historical type collections of West Palaearctic bees in the tribe Eucerini (Apidae) that are preserved in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. A total of 72 species names are revised, 147 type specimens are recognised, and 33 synonyms are newly proposed. Unexpectedly, some of the oldest bee names were found to be misinterpreted and have been incorrectly used for a period of nearly 200 years, demonstrating a substantial lack of knowledge. Actions are taken to settle the taxonomy of these and many other species, the names of which are continuously being used in biodiversity studies and databases. The following taxonomic changes are proposed: Tetralonia Spinola, 1838 is reestablished as a valid genus and not as a subgenus of Eucera Scopoli, 1770 (based on F. Freitas, in litt.) (stat. rev.); Eucera speculifera Pérez, 1910 n. syn. of Eucera aeolopus Pérez, 1910; Eucera conspersa Pérez, 1895 n. syn. of Eucera algira Lepeletier, 1841; Eucera dentipes Saunders, 1908 n. syn. of Eucera algira Lepeletier, 1841; Tetralonia atroalba Pérez, 1895 n. syn. of Tetralonia brachycera Gribodo, 1893 [Eucera (Synhalonia) brachycera (Gribodo)]; Eucera wahrmani Benoist, 1950 n. syn. of Eucera cinnamomea Alfken, 1935; Eucera fasciatella Lepeletier, 1841 n. syn. of Eucera clypeata Erichson, 1835; Eucera decolorata Gribodo, 1924 n. syn. of Eucera confinis Pérez, 1895; Eucera bolivari Dusmet y Alonso, 1926 n. syn. of Eucera confinis Pérez, 1895; Tetralonia mucida Pérez, 1895 n. syn. of Eucera (Synhalonia) cuniculina Klug, 1845; Eucera fulvescens Walker, 1871 (and its replacement name E. aegyptiaca Dalla Torre, 1896) n. syn. of Eucera dimidiata Brullé, 1832; Eucera gracilipes Pérez, 1910 (and its replacement name E. duplicata Dusmet y Alonso, 1926) n. syn. of Eucera furfurea Vachal, 1907; Eucera bicolor Lepeletier, 1841 (as well as its replacement name E. algeriensis Dalla Torre, 1896) n. syn. of Eucera hispana Lepeletier, 1841; Eucera ephippia Dours, 1873 n. syn. of Eucera hispana Lepeletier, 1841; Eucera hispaliensis Pérez, 1902 n. syn. of Apis longicornis Linnaeus, 1758 [Eucera longicornis (Linnaeus)]; Eucera fallax Dusmet y Alonso, 1926 n. syn. of Apis longicornis Linnaeus, 1758 [Eucera longicornis (Linnaeus)]; Eucera subvillosa Lepeletier, 1841 n. syn. of Eucera nigra Lepeletier, 1841; Eucera contigua Dusmet y Alonso, 1928 n. syn. of Eucera nigrifacies Lepeletier, 1841; Tetralonia lucasi Gribodo, 1893 [Eucera (Synhalonia) lucasi (Gribodo)] n. syn. of Macrocera obscura Brullé, 1832 [Eucera (Synhalonia) obscura (Brullé)]; Eucera grisea var. effasciata Alfken 1926 n. syn. of Eucera oraniensis Lepeletier, 1841; Eucera aciculata Pérez, 1910 n. syn. of Eucera polita Pérez, 1895; Eucera bipartita Pérez, 1910 n. syn. of Eucera proxima Morawitz, 1875; Eucera sulamita Vachal, 1907 n. syn. of Eucera syriaca Dalla Torre, 1896; Eucera kervillei Pérez, 1910 n. syn. of Eucera syriaca Dalla Torre, 1896; Eucera maxima Tkalců, 1987 n. syn. of Eucera taurea Vachal, 1907; Eucera obsoleta Pérez, 1910 n. syn. of Eucera terminata Pérez, 1895 (as also the latter’s replacement name E. xanthura Pérez, 1895); Eucera unicincta Lepeletier, 1841 n. syn. of Eucera vidua Lepeletier, 1841; Tetralonia carbonaria Pérez, 1895 n. syn. of Eucera atrata Klug, 1845 [Tetralonia atrata (Klug)]. In addition, Eucera eucnemidea Dours, 1873 is confirmed as a synonym, and formally synonymised with Eucera grisea Fabricius, 1793 (n. syn.). The following species-group names are synonymised, despite having precedency, under the principle of name stability: Eucera trivittata Brullé, 1832 n. syn. of Eucera bidentata Pérez, 1887; Eucera distincta Lepeletier, 1841 n. syn. of Eucera pollinosa Smith, 1854; Macrocera alternans Brullé, 1832 [Eucera (Synhalonia) alternans (Brullé)] n. syn. of Macrocera rufa Lepeletier, 1841 [Eucera (Synhalonia) rufa (Lepeletier)]; and Eucera subfasciata Lepeletier, 1841 n. syn. of Eucera taurica Morawitz, 1871. Eucera impressiventris Pérez, 1895 stat. rev. is resurrected from synonymy with Eucera punctatissima Pérez, 1895, and reestablished as a valid species. In addition to 43 lectotypes, neotypes are designated for two species, Tetralonia coangustata Dours, 1873, and T. nigrifacies Dours, 1873 (syn. Eucera commixta Dalla Torre & Friese, 1895).