Pollinators enable the reproduction of the vast majority of flowering plants and are globally reported to decline (Dicks et al., 2021; Potts et al., 2016). Over the last few years, scientific studies on pollinator insects’ ecology and conservation have increased significantly (Dicks et al., 2021). These studies indicate that individual actions such as planting wildflowers or installing bee hotels can contribute to pollinator conservation. However, scientific evidence alone is not enough to translate conservation knowledge into policy and into changes in behaviour (Hulme, 2014). To implement conservation actions, ecologists and policy makers need a deeper understanding of the psycho-social factors influencing people’s intentions towards protecting biodiversity (Maas et al., 2019). However, psychology and behavioural science are rarely used in conservation research, particularly not for insects (Hall & Martins, 2020; but see Knapp et al., 2021).

Overall, a large range of personal and social factors influence human pro-environmental behaviours (Gifford & Nilsson, 2014). Concerning pollinators, previous studies mostly investigated people’s knowledge and attitude towards them (Penn et al., 2020; Schonfelder & Bogner, 2017; van Vierssen Trip et al., 2020; Wilson et al., 2017), or focused on the leverages and barriers to the adoption of pro-pollinator gardening practices (Burr et al., 2018; Gusto et al., 2023; Silvert et al., 2023; Varga-Szilay & Pozsgai, 2023). Compared to vertebrates, who mostly are associated with positive values, attention and conservation efforts, insect pollinators are sometimes marginalized by the dislike for insects in general or by the focus on the honeybee (Hall & Martins, 2020; Hochkirch et al., 2023; Leandro & Jay-Robert, 2019; Sturm et al., 2021). In their pioneering study on the drivers of pro-pollinator behaviour, Knapp et al. (2021) showed that interactions with nature and perceived behavioural control (i.e. belief that the behaviour in question is under the person’s control) were important predictors of pro-pollinator actions, while ecological knowledge was far less important. However, it is still not clear how the environmental context and cross-country socio-cultural differences can affect people’s behaviour towards pollinators.