Would you like to learn more about how to identify insects and pollinators? Here are field guides and materials to help you get started.
Document "Field guide to the wild bees of Bavaria"
This field guide to the wild bees of Bavaria provides identification descriptions for 37 genera, covering the 357 nesting species and 120 cuckoo bee species currently known from the region. A further 40 species with historical records in Bavaria are also listed, although these are not accompanied by detailed species accounts. To support morphology-based identification in the field, the guide highlights additional features such as phenology, genus- and species-specific flower visitation patterns, nesting habits, and flight behaviour. Together, these characteristics facilitate the identification of solitary bees under field conditions.
🇩🇪 This document is in German.
Document "Field guide to the bumblebees of Austria, Germany and Switzerland"
This field guide covers all 48 species of Bombus known from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, including the cuckoo bumblebees formerly classified as Psithyrus. It provides key information for identifying queens, workers, and drones, in most cases to species level. Identification is primarily based on the colouration of body hairs (setae) on the clypeus and the terga of the mesosoma and metasoma. For similarly coloured species, additional morphological characters visible on live bumblebees with a hand lens are provided. The guide also summarises the altitudinal distribution and preferred habitats of each species.
🇩🇪 This document is in German.
Learning platform "Pollinator Academy"
Pollinator Academy is an online learning platform providing taxonomic information, identification tools, training materials, and other resources on bees, hoverflies, and butterflies. It brings together genus factsheets, identification keys, scientific publications, online courses, and practical learning materials to support the identification and monitoring of pollinators.
The website is available in most European languages.
