Lately, I have been working in a group project (Beelibre) on the conservation of wild bees. This project was born out of the urgency and concern of some European countries in combating the decline of insects, and preserving their ecosystem services, which offer food security and ecosystem stability, worth billions of euros.
Part of this work, developed at the Natural History Museum of Luxembourg, and financed by the government of Luxembourg, is dedicated specially to mapping and photographing wild bees. Additionally we are training new researchers on the subject, since a large proportion of wild bees remain practically unknown, including by experts.
The beelibre project centralizes wild bee information, featuring image databases (bee profiles), publication repositories, pollen, and DNA barcode libraries for identification and recognition. It aims to democratize scientific knowledge and promote biodiversity awareness, bridging past efforts with modern technology to aid national conservation strategies in protecting Luxembourg's wild bee fauna. This work is still in progress, and I intend to photograph and document it.
For more details, contact António Cruz - cruzony@gmail.com