The count of non-managed bee species in Europe experiencing extinction has over doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the count of at-risk butterfly types has almost doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating species was revealed by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which established that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The number of butterflies at risk of extinction in European nations has increased from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the earlier research, conducted 14 years ago. One type, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
“Beyond their visual charm and cultural value, pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our well-being, our food chains and our economies – supporting the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats mounting for butterfly types and essential wild bee species.”
The causes of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing damage or destruction of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the risk of local extinctions.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in European nations are imperilled by the climate change crisis – approximately twice as many as a previous decade.
As many as 90% of blooming plants in Europe depend on insect pollination, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, wild bee colonies are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many native plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a few examples.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee species, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee species, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the continent and the sole species of this genus in Europe, is now assessed as critically at risk – the scientific classification closest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are only found on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become hotter but in the end exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among above 40 percent of types unique to Europe (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are threatened by severe drought and wildfires.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, global warming is causing the timberline to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with bushes taking over wetlands and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice to graze Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest environment for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly in the European continent because of all these reasons,” remarked a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many citizens are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all participating nations have to reverse the decrease in pollinating insects by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
As per Martin Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinators which will not lower crop yields – and may enhance it – such as farmers establishing margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the protection status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is required to address this threat. In collaboration with member states, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an EU-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our progress. Now, we need to concentrate on implementation and partnership with member states to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the first EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, a further essential group of pollinators. Published in 2022, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly types in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
