Wildlife

Bees, Butterflies and Hoverflies

One in three bee, butterfly and hoverfly species are currently disappearing in the EU.

Without their drive to fertilise flowers, many plant species would dwindle and eventually disappear. It’s not just beloved honeybees and butterflies; wasps, beetles, flies and ants are also key to this vital process.

With around 80 per cent of crop and wild-flowering plants depending on animal pollination, the Commission describes pollinator loss as one of the biggest threats to EU nature, human wellbeing and food security, as it compromises long-term agricultural production.

Bees could be ensured safe flight around Europe via ‘buzz lines’ under a new deal unveiled yesterday. Creating a network of ecological corridors is one of a number of measures in the European Commission’s ‘New Deal for Pollinators’. The EU is already clamping down on the use of pesticides which are the major threat to pollinators.