Bees - protected?

[joolzy14]

Can anyone please settle an argument and confirm if bees are now a protected species?

[Tallulah!]

They have been for YEARS.

[burnhal]

There are possibly 250 bee species in the UK.... got any particular one in mind? I dont thin that any.........and hard searching seems to confirm.....that any are protected though 23 or so are subject to BAP- biodiversity action plans. Basically the idea is to promote the species by protecibg the kind of habitat it uses. Besides.... your avarage Joe in the street would recognise and realise that an otter is protected......... but would he lnow he has just stepped on a brown carder bee?

[Zotter]

No - bees are not a protected species in the UK - protection of invertabrates is in Schedule 5 of the Countryside and Wildlife act (1981) and no bees are listed. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act (2004) require public bodies to promote bio diversity but does not specifically protect bees themselves. Likewise you will not find any UK bee species listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List.