Nearly 100 additional species of wild bees are now considered at risk of extinction. That is one of the main findings from the updated European Red List of threatened species, published on Saturday, October 11, as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) holds its global congress in Abu Dhabi. In addition to mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish, bees and butterflies are among the groups reassessed for the first time since the 2010s.

Following this review, 9% of Europe's wild bee species – at least 172 out of the 1,928 existing species – were classified as threatened with extinction, compared to 77 species listed as threatened in 2014 after the group's first assessment. For butterflies, 15% of species are now considered threatened. Hoverflies (a family of striped flies), which make up the third major group of pollinators, were the subject of an assessment in 2022 that concluded 37% were at risk of extinction.

"The conservation status of Europe's wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators is disastrous," said Jessika Roswall, the European commissioner for the environment. "These species are the foundation of our food systems, our ecosystems and our societies. Urgent and collective action is necessary."

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