European Red List of Bees

information on distribution and life history data between
the relatively well known, but species-poor, northwest of
Europe, and particularly the centre of bee diversity in the
Mediterranean region that harbours the majority of the
fauna. This deficiency may be due to insufficient, or even
complete lack of, taxonomic expertise for large parts of
the European bee fauna. Such taxonomic deficits could be
overcome by training the next generation of taxonomists,
investing in carefully targeted faunistic surveys and better
mobilising existing data from museum collections.
Eucera nigrilabris (Data Deficient). © J. Devalez .
3.4 Major threats to bees in Europe
With the majority (56.7%) of European bee species
being listed as Data Deficient, any overview of the
threats to the continental apifauna will necessarily be
incomplete. However, for conservation and management
of bee diversity to be undertaken effectively, it is critical
to have a clear understanding of taxonomy and ecology
of the species present. National governments, through
the Convention on Biological Diversity, recognise the
existence of a taxonomic impediment and, through the
Darwin Declaration, intend to address the situation
(Environment Australia 1998). This shortfall in taxonomic
expertise is very apparent in our understanding of bees.
A major threat to effective deployment of conservation
actions for the bees of Europe is an inability to understand
and identify the species present and to monitor the state
of populations effectively.
According to the European Red List, 212 species had no
threats identified, while for 1,067 species threats remain
unknown. Identified threats for the remaining species
(663) are presented below, and a summary of the relative
importance of the different threatening processes is
shown in Figure 11.
Agricultural expansion and intensification
Many of the environmental threats to bee diversity are
associated with modern agriculture and, in particular,
shifting agricultural practice and the increasing
intensification of farming (Figure 11). These threats
include those related to intensive arable farming (loss of
uncultivated habitats and widespread use of insecticides
and herbicides (Sydenham et al. 2014, Gill and Raine
2014)), livestock farming (resulting in grazing and
stocking regimes that are damaging to grasslands and
fragile Mediterranean ecosystems) (Vulliamy et al.
2006) and the continued presence of commercial timber
plantations (Navarro-Cerrillo et al. 2013).
According to the European Red List, 366 species are
affected by changes in agricultural practice, which can
lead to large scale habitat loss and habitat degradation,
especially in temperate regions. Shifts from grassland hay
cropping regimes to the more intensive silage production
(i.e. late season to early season cropping) or increased
grazing, has resulted in large scale losses of herb-rich
grasslands e.g., 97% loss of enclosed semi‐natural
grasslands in England and Wales (Bullock et al. 2011) and
97-99% of the historically managed grassland in Sweden
(Dahlström et al. 2008). Loss of season-long flowering
impacts particularly strongly on long-lived social insects,
especially bumblebees (Bombus spp.), and in more
intensively farmed regions of Europe, bumblebees are
especially susceptible (Carvell et al. 2006, Rundlöf et al.
2008). The loss of semi-natural grasslands also negatively
impacts on localised and specialised solitary species (e.g.,
Andrena hattorfiana and A. humilis in Sweden) (Franzén
and Nilsson 2004).
In other parts of Europe, traditional land use has been
abandoned, allowing for development of scrub and
ultimately woodland. This is especially true in places
that are generally unsuitable for more intensive farming,
and in places such as the Baltic States it is abandonment,
rather than habitat fragmentation, that is the key driver
of species composition in semi-natural grasslands
(Dauber et al. 2006). 331 non-threatened species and
35 threatened species are regarded as under threat from
agricultural expansion, intensification and shifts in
agricultural practice, and 307 non-threatened species and
16 threatened species are regarded as under threat from
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