The number of non-managed bee species in the European continent confronting dying out has more than doubled over the past decade, whereas the number of threatened butterfly species has almost doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating species was disclosed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which found that at least over 170 bee species out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in European nations.
The count of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has increased from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the last study, conducted over a decade past. One type, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are lifelines for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that nourish us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The newest European red list assessments reveal significant difficulties, with risks increasing for butterfly types and vital wild bee types.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, wetland drainage, excessive grazing by animals, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoids. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the threat of local extinctions.
Global heating is also demonstrated to be a major threat: 52% of all endangered butterflies in European nations are imperilled by the climate change crisis – approximately twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as nine out of ten of plants that flower in European nations require pollination by animals, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, wild bee populations are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in aiding the pollination of crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, famous for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the mainland and the single type of this genus in Europe, is now classified as critically endangered – the scientific category most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become warmer but eventually have no room left. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, types such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by severe wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is causing the timberline to move north by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush invading marsh and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can no more cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest living space for all these pollinating species is grassland rich in flowers and that is disappearing very fast throughout Europe because of all these reasons,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to turn around the decline in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are engaged. Let’s hope they can obtain the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As per the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not lower food production – and could improve it – such as growers establishing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to address this risk. In collaboration with member countries, the EU Commission has implemented an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to focus on application and cooperation with participating nations to preserve our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies is subsequent to the first European-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinating insect category. Released in 2022, it disclosed that 37% of all hoverfly types in European nations were at risk of extinction.
