British bugs, snails, butterflies, bees, wasps, ants, starfish, spiders, beetles and other animals without backbones are the most sensitive indicators of the health of the natural environment and have never been in so much trouble.
Riverflies have declined by over 66%; more than three quarters of our butterfly species are in decline, including on SSSIs; two thirds of our bumblebees are disappearing; around 250 species of beetle have ‘gone missing’; 239 invertebrates were listed as being of high priority for conservation priority (the UK Biodiversity Action Plan) in 1995, but the 2007 review of the list found that 411 species now meet the stringent criteria; and almost daily Buglife is informed about development proposals that imperil remaining populations of endangered species.
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| Under threat - Brown banded carder bee (Bombus humilis) © Sam Ashfield |
“Dire disintegration of wildlife habitats combined with poor management of the remaining fragments has caused a conservation ‘crunch’ that has left wildlife, and particularly the little animals, in a right state.” Buglife Director Matt Shardlow said. “We welcome the fact that this is now formally recognised by a Government agency and hope that the funds can now be found to address the key problems directly.”
In Buglife’s opinion Natural England urgently require more resources to:-
- Create and link together quality wildlife habitats throughout the country.
- Strongly defend sites supporting rare species on the Government’s biodiversity list.
- Start taking action to secure populations of the hundreds of species that are now so endangered that they are listed on the Government’s biodiversity list.
- Review the extent and management of the SSSI network (which was set up 30 years ago and is based mainly on bird and plant priorities) to ensure that the needs of bugs are catered for.
- Establish and manage a new network of Marine Conservation Zones.
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