The number of wild bee species in Europe facing extinction has more than doubled over the past decade, and the count of endangered butterfly species has close to doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating insects was disclosed by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterflies facing extinction in the European continent has increased from thirty-seven to 65 since the earlier research, carried out over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their beauty and cultural significance, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food systems and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” stated Grethel Aguilar. “The latest European red list assessments reveal significant difficulties, with dangers increasing for butterflies and essential native bee varieties.”
The causes of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing harm or degradation of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also revealed to be a significant danger: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterfly types in European nations are threatened by the climate crisis – about twice as many as a previous decade.
Up to nine out of ten of flowering plants in the European continent depend on animal pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, non-managed bee populations are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees vanish, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in fertilizing peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, famous for pollinating trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the mainland and the only species of this biological genus in European nations, is now assessed as severely threatened – the scientific classification most akin to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are only found on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become warmer but ultimately exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are threatened by intense drought and wildfires.
In the meantime, in the Arctic Circle, global warming is resulting in the tree line to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with bushes invading wetlands and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can no more cross the frozen water to graze northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinators is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is vanishing rapidly throughout Europe because of all these elements,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The good news is that so many citizens care now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to turn around the decrease in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are involved. It is hoped they can obtain the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of action for pollinating insects which will not decrease agricultural output – and may enhance it – such as growers developing bloom-filled edges around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, described the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.
“Prompt and unified steps is needed to confront this risk. Together with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to focus on execution and cooperation with member states to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies follows the initial EU-wide study on hoverflies, an additional crucial group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
