Bees, as is well known, are in danger. Habitat loss and pesticides are causing an unprecedented die-off of pollinating insects around the world, Europe included. Two studies funded by the European Commission show that one in ten bees is at risk of extinction in the Old Continent.

9.2 per cent of the 1,965 bee species buzzing across Europe are on the verge of disappearing, while a further 5.2 per cent could be threatened in the near future. The data come from two studies conducted on behalf of the Red List of Bees drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Iucn) and the European project Status and Trends of European Pollinators (Step). As if that were not enough, the Iucn study specifies that these figures are partial, because for 56.7 per cent of all species present in Europe there is insufficient data to pass judgement on their state of health.

These studies can be considered a reference point for all future research on the subject, according to Ana Nieto, who led the study carried out for the Iucn: "We were shocked by the fact that there was not enough information for many of the species analysed." For European Commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella, "if we do not address the reasons behind this decline and act urgently to halt it, we could find ourselves paying a very high price."

The pollination of crops is worth approximately 22 billion euros per year in Europe alone, and 153 billion worldwide. The study highlights that among the most serious threats are intensive agriculture, which reduces the habitat and spread of the plants that pollinating insects favour most in order to carry out their work, insecticides (such as neonicotinoids), and climate change in the form of increasingly intense rainfall, rising heatwaves and prolonged drought periods, all of which reduce food availability.