Extinction fears as bees and butterfly numbers plummet

Europe’s wild bees and butterflies are facing an escalating extinction crisis, a new conservation assessment has warned, prompting urgent calls for action to reverse the “dire” state of these vital pollinators.

- EMILY BEAMENT

Their decline poses a significant threat to natural systems and food production.

The latest European-level assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List now classify nearly 100 more wild bee species as at risk.

This brings the total to 172 out of 1,928 assessed - meaning one in 10 wild bees in Europe are now threatened, a sharp rise from 77 species in 2014.

More than 20 per cent of both bumble bee and cellophane bee species are under threat, the IUCN reports.

This includes 15 species of bumble bees, crucial for pollinating plants like peas, beans, and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, vital for plants in the daisy family and trees such as red maples, now listed as threatened.

These essential insects are succumbing to pressures from agriculture, pollution, and rising temperatures, necessitating immediate intervention.