Istituto Superiore per la Protezione
e la Ricerca Ambientale

Cerca

Insects and pollinators: 9% of bees and butterflies at risk of extinction

The economic value of animal pollination is around 153 billion euros a year worldwide

About 9% of bee and butterfly species are at risk of extinction and with them also the contributions they make available to communities, including plant pollination. The pollination of flowering plants by animals represents an ecosystem service of great value for humanity, both from an economic point of view and for the benefit of spontaneous and cultivated plants. Over 75% of the main agricultural crops and about 90% of wild flowering plants need bees, wasps, butterflies, ladybugs, spiders, reptiles, birds, mammals and pollinators in general to transfer pollen from a flower to the other and reproduce