Recent studies reveal the use of tree cavities by wild honeybee colonies in European forests. This highlights the conservation potential of forests for a highly threatened component of the native entomofauna in Europe, but currently no estimate of potential wild honeybee population sizes exists. Here, we analyzed the tree cavity densities of 106 forest areas across Europe and inferred an expected population size of wild honeybees. Both forest and management types affected the density of tree cavities. Accordingly, we estimated that more than 80,000 wild honeybee colonies could be sustained in European forests. As expected, potential conservation hotspots were identified in unmanaged forests, and, surprisingly, also in other large forest areas across Europe. Our results contribute to the EU policy strategy to halt pollinator declines and reveal the potential of forest areas for the conservation of so far neglected wild honeybee populations in Europe.

中文翻译：

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欧洲森林对保护野生蜜蜂种群的贡献

最近的研究表明，欧洲森林中的野生蜜蜂群落利用树洞。这突显了森林对于欧洲本土昆虫动物的高度威胁部分的保护潜力，但目前尚没有潜在的野生蜜蜂种群数量的估计。在这里，我们分析了欧洲106个森林地区的树洞密度，并推断出野生蜜蜂的预期种群规模。森林和管理类型都影响树洞的密度。因此，我们估计在欧洲森林中可以维持80,000多个野生蜜蜂殖民地。正如预期的那样，在未管理的森林中以及在欧洲其他大型森林地区中发现了潜在的保护热点。