The number of wild bee varieties in Europe experiencing disappearance has increased twofold over the past decade, whereas the count of threatened butterfly species has close to doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating species was disclosed by research studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which determined that at least over 170 bee species out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The number of butterfly types at risk of extinction in the European continent has increased from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the previous assessment, carried out over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our physical condition, our food chains and our economies – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with dangers increasing for butterflies and vital non-managed bee types.”
The factors of the quick recent decreases are the continuing harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a major threat: Over half of all endangered butterfly species in European nations are threatened by the climate crisis – approximately twice as many as a previous decade.
Nearly ninety percent of plants that flower in Europe require animal pollination, as per the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, non-managed bee groups are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, famous for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the European continent and the sole species of this biological genus in Europe, is now classified as critically endangered – the scientific classification closest to extinction in the wild.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to climate change as they need to move uphill as their environments become warmer but ultimately have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of European endemics (only found in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by extreme wildfires and drought.
In the meantime, in the Far North, global warming is causing the timberline to move north by tens of metres each year, with scrub encroaching on marsh and tundra. Hotter climates also mean caribou can no more cross the ice to browse Arctic meadows and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast across Europe because of all these reasons,” stated Martin Warren. “The positive thing is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to turn around the decrease in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are involved. We hope they can receive the motivations that will support them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which won’t reduce food production – and may enhance it – such as farmers creating bloom-filled edges around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, described the protection status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is required to tackle this threat. Along with participating nations, the EU Commission has put in place an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to focus on execution and collaboration with participating nations to preserve our pollinating species,” she said.
The release of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies follows the first EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, another vital group of pollinators. Released in twenty-twenty-two, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
