More than 75% of European bumblebee species may be threatened by 2080 – study

Dr Guillaume Ghisbain a conservation biologist at Free University of Brussels in Belgium, said he was “deeply saddened” by the findings

More than 75% of European bumblebee species may be threatened in the next 40–60 years according to worst-case-scenario projections of bumblebee populations (Jane Barlow/PA)

More than three-quarters of bumblebee species across Europe may be threatened in the next few decades unless plans are in place to tackle the effects of climate change, according to researchers.

The scientists said around 32–76% of the European bumblebee species they studied are currently classified as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global environmental organisation documenting the status of the natural world.