Wild honey bees reclassified as ‘critically endangered’

Wild honey bees reclassified as ‘critically endangered’ Keystone-SDA

A study by Agroscope Zurich and the University of Hohenheim, Germany, shows a significant decline in wild honeybee colonies in Europe. The honeybee is classified as critically endangered, the Swiss organisation FreeTheBees announced on Tuesday.

The organisation, which is explicitly committed to protecting wild honeybees, cites the threat classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The bee conservationists recommend that wild honey bees be recognised as part of biodiversity and systematically monitored. Wild colonies account for around a sixth of Europe’s honey bees, but their habitat is becoming scarce: there is a lack of old trees with hollows, a lack of food and a lack of near-natural structures.

However, it is by no means only wild honey bees that are under threat. A total of 615 bee species live in Switzerland; 45% of native wild bees are threatened. This is according to the 2024 update of the Federal Office for the Environment’s (FOEN) Red List of Bees.

Of these, 9.6% – or 59 species – are considered extinct in Switzerland. 3.9% – or 24 species – were classified as critically endangered, 13.7% (84 species) as endangered, and 18.2% (112 species) as vulnerable.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.