Insect-flower interactions in the Mediterranean area: a Citizen Science dataset collated within the LIFE 4 Pollinators project

Pollinators play a vital role in most terrestrial ecosystems, supporting wild plant communities and enhancing agricultural yields. However, despite their ecological and economic importance, they have been experiencing an alarming decline over the past decades. The Mediterranean region, known for harboring highly diverse communities of plants and pollinators, is particularly vulnerable due to intense anthropogenic pressures. Furthermore, the ecological roles of many floral visitors remain poorly understood, hindering conservation efforts. In response, in recent years, growing attention has been directed toward the contribution that citizens can give in support of pollinator research. An increasing number of projects have adopted a Citizen Science approach to enable large-scale data collection. The LIFE 4 Pollinators project (LIFE18/GIE/IT/000755) “Involving people to protect wild bees and other pollinators in the Mediterranean” aims to promote the conservation of pollinating insects and entomophilous plants across the Mediterranean region by fostering progressive changes in human practices that threaten wild pollinators. In addition to the implementation of several actions to raise awareness, the project launched a web platform to collect photographic records of insect-flower interaction from the public. The platform is expected to remain active for at least ten years, during which time we encourage continuing record submissions by interested bodies. We commit to periodic online updates of the current dataset, which we make freely available to anyone.传粉昆虫（Pollinators）在绝大多数陆地生态系统中发挥着至关重要的作用，支撑野生植物群落并助力农业增产。然而，尽管其生态与经济价值举足轻重，近几十年来其种群数量却正以令人警觉的速度持续下滑。地中海地区因孕育着高度多样的植物与传粉昆虫群落而闻名，却因强烈的人为活动压力而尤为脆弱。此外，诸多访花昆虫的生态功能仍未被充分探明，这一现状阻碍了保护工作的推进。对此，近年来社会各界愈发重视公民群体对传粉昆虫研究的支持贡献，越来越多的项目采用公民科学（Citizen Science）范式开展大规模数据采集工作。LIFE 4 Pollinators项目（编号LIFE18/GIE/IT/000755）主题为“动员民众保护地中海地区野生蜂类及其他传粉昆虫”，旨在通过推动变革威胁野生传粉昆虫的人类行为模式，促进地中海全域传粉昆虫与虫媒植物的保护。除开展多项科普宣传活动以提升公众认知外，该项目还搭建了网络平台，用于收集公众提交的昆虫-花朵交互行为影像记录。该平台预计将持续运营至少十年，在此期间我们将持续欢迎相关主体提交观测记录。我们承诺将定期在线更新本数据集，并向所有公众免费开放获取渠道。