Why is specimen labelling and storage important for the systematic monitoring of pollinators?

Specimens collected under the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme immensely increase their scientific value for understanding changes in pollinator biodiversity if they remain identifiable years later. An EBOCC online workshop on 4 November 2026 looked at how laboratories and collections across the EU can keep that traceability intact.

Where a pollinator specimen cannot be identified reliably in the field, collecting it becomes the first step towards building a clearer picture of pollinator diversity. What happens afterwards, how it is handled, labelled and stored, determines whether it can still be used for research or reference in the years to come. For laboratories and collection managers, this raises questions: which information needs to accompany a specimen, how should labels be standardised, and what storage conditions keep specimens usable over decades.

These questions were the focus of an online workshop held on 4 November 2026 by the EU Biodiversity Observation Coordination Centre (EBOCC) preparatory action project. The workshop was hosted by the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), with adelphi providing the technical platform. François Dusoulier, head curator of the museum's collections, opened the session with a presentation. Participants went on to discuss: 

• the practical necessities of specimen handling, labelling and storage for long-term traceability and usability;
• an overview of current specimen handling methods;
• the labelling standards applied in France, as a basis for exchanging best practice across Member States; and
• options for short- and long-term specimen storage, including the trade-offs involved.

The workshop contributed to the implementation of the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EU-PoMS), the common framework Member States are applying to monitor pollinator populations under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation. 

It formed part of the EBOCC peer-to-peer exchange, through which EBOCC facilitates exchange among Member States as they translate the shared EU-PoMS methodology into national monitoring programmes. Diligent labelling practices would help ensure that specimens collected across Member States remain identifiable and usable across collections and over time, strengthening the evidence base for EU-wide pollinator monitoring. The results gathered during the session will be shared with participants and will feed into the forthcoming EBOCC guidance on laboratory and storage protocols.

Further information and materials

The EBOCC project is a Preparatory Action funded by the European Union, managed by the European Commission and implemented by a consortium of European biodiversity monitoring, research and environmental organisations.