Conservation status of New York's pollinators

Abstract The global decline of insect pollinators is now well documented and recognized publicly from all over the Earth in a wide variety of ecosystems. Because a great deal of pollinator‐relevant environmental regulation (e.g., pesticide limitation, invasive species control) happens at the subnational level, an understanding of the subnational conservation status of these organisms is needed for targeting actions and monitoring their efficacy. We selected focal taxa from each of the four major insect groups known to be important pollinators: Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. We assessed the conservation status (S‐rank) of over 361 species of pollinating insects in New York State, USA, as part of the Empire State Native Pollinator Survey after compiling available data from literature, museum collections, community science portals and new field surveys. Our effort added 19 species to the list of known species for New York. However, 11% of the focal species have not been detected in the state since prior to 2000. We found that over 25% of the focal taxa in New York are at risk of extirpation from NY (ranked as S1, critically imperilled or S2, imperilled), or 61% when including S3 (vulnerable). These results provide an important baseline of the distribution and status of native pollinators in New York to help inform conservation efforts. Monitoring is needed to know whether we are maintaining New York's pollinators in the face of global change.