The total of non-managed bee types in the European continent experiencing dying out has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, while the total of threatened butterfly types has almost doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating insects was disclosed by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee species out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in Europe.
The count of butterflies facing extinction in the European continent has risen from 37 to 65 since the previous assessment, conducted over a decade past. One type, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural importance, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our well-being, our food supplies and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” said the IUCN director general. “The newest European red list evaluations reveal significant difficulties, with dangers growing for butterfly species and essential non-managed bee species.”
The causes of the quick recent decreases are the persistent destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the threat of local extinctions.
Global heating is also revealed to be a major threat: Over half of all threatened butterfly species in the European continent are endangered by the climate emergency – about double the number as a ten years ago.
As many as ninety percent of plants that flower in European nations depend on pollination by animals, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, wild bee groups are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many native plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, known for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the European continent and the single type of this biological genus in the European continent, is now assessed as severely threatened – the scientific category nearest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global warming as they need to move uphill as their environments become warmer but eventually exhaust available space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are imperilled by extreme wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Far North, global warming is resulting in the timberline to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the frozen water to graze Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest environment for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly across Europe because of all these reasons,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many people are aware now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member countries have to halt the decline in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are interested. We hope they can get the incentives that will support them on their way.”
According to Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of measures for pollinating species which will not lower food production – and could improve it – such as farmers establishing bloom-filled edges around their cultivated areas.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the conservation status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “critical”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to confront this danger. Along with member states, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an Europe-wide observation system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our progress. Now, we need to focus on application and cooperation with participating nations to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the initial EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, a further essential group of pollinators. Published in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly species in Europe were threatened with extinction.
