Amazonian stingless bees become first insects to win legal rights

Stingless bees from the Amazon have become the first insects to be granted legal rights anywhere in the world, in abreakthrough supporters hope will bea catalyst for wider action.

- Damien Gayle

Across a broad area of Peruvian rainforest, the bees now have the right to exist and to flourish.

Cultivated by Indigenous peoples since pre-Columbian times, the bees are thought to be key pollinators, sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem health.

But they are threatened by the climate crisis, deforestation and pesticides as well as competition from European bees. Scientists and campaigners have been racing to get them on conservation red lists.