The number of native bee types in the European continent facing disappearance has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, and the total of endangered butterfly species has almost doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinating species was revealed by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least over 170 bee species out of 1,928 were at risk of extinction in Europe.
The total of butterflies facing extinction in Europe has increased from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the previous assessment, carried out over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinating species like bees and butterfly species are lifelines for our physical condition, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” stated the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterfly species and vital wild bee species.”
The reasons of the swift recent drops are the ongoing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the threat of local extinctions.
Global heating is also shown to be a primary risk: Over half of all threatened butterfly types in European nations are imperilled by the climate change crisis – approximately twice as many as a ten years ago.
Nearly ninety percent of flowering plants in European nations rely on pollination by animals, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee populations are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees die out, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a few examples.”
15 varieties of bumblebees, which perform a vital function in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee types, known for pollinating trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species exclusive to the European continent and the sole species of this genus group in Europe, is now classified as critically at risk – the research category most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are solely present on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to global warming as they have to climb upward as their living spaces become more heated but in the end run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are imperilled by intense dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Arctic region, global warming is causing the timberline to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with scrub taking over marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can not anymore cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest environment for all these pollinating species is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast across the European continent because of all these elements,” said Martin Warren. “The encouraging aspect is that so many citizens are aware now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member countries have to turn around the decrease in pollinating insects by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are interested. We hope they can get the incentives that will support them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinating species which will not decrease agricultural output – and might boost it – such as farmers developing bloom-filled edges around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to tackle this danger. Together with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to concentrate on implementation and cooperation with participating nations to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the pioneering EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, a further vital group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in European nations were facing extinction.
