The Lithuanian Red Data Book Commission proposes to add the European dark honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) ) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) ) (Apis mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera mellifera) (Apis mellifera mellifera) )

The absence of legal protections for the &scaron subspecies of the native bee, as set out in the Law on Protected Fauna, Flora and Fungi, does not ensure that the &scaron subspecies will not be lost in the wild.

With the inclusion of the European dark honey bee in the List of Protected Species of Animals, Plants and Fungi, data on the distribution of the bee in the wild will be compiled in the Protected Species Information System (SRIS), and sites will be subject to the provisions of the Law on Protected Species of Animals, Plants and Fungi, which will ensure their protection and use.

Recently, the threat to the native bee subspecies in Lithuania has been very high. According to studies carried out by the Nature Research Centre and an assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the main threats to the survival of the &scaron bee populations are hybridisation with the alien subspecies of honey bees introduced to our country and the lack of suitable overmature trees with large hollow trees in Lithuanian mi&scaron.

The Nature Research Centre surveyed 8 hollow trees in Dzūkija National Park, where the European dark honey bee freely lives. According to the IUCN assessment, this subspecies of the native bee meets the criteria for Critically Endangered status.

Comments and proposals for the draft amendment to the list of protected species of animals, plants and fungi can be submitted to the Legislative Acts Information System (LASIS) until 3 June.