The total of non-managed bee species in European nations facing disappearance has over doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the count of at-risk butterfly has close to doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating species was unveiled by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which established that at least 172 bee species out of 1,928 were facing extinction in Europe.
The total of butterflies facing extinction in Europe has grown from 37 to 65 since the previous assessment, conducted 14 years ago. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees and butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food chains and our economic systems – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The newest European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterflies and crucial native bee species.”
The reasons of the swift recent drops are the ongoing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators significantly raises the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Over half of all endangered butterfly types in Europe are imperilled by the climate change crisis – roughly twice as many as a ten years ago.
Nearly nine out of ten of flowering plants in European nations require insect pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Sadly, native bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type exclusive to the mainland and the only species of this genus in Europe, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the scientific classification closest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly species that are only found on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to climate change as they need to move uphill as their living spaces become hotter but ultimately have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are threatened by extreme wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, global warming is leading to the timberline to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with scrub encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice to graze Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are facing extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The biggest living space for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is vanishing rapidly throughout European nations because of all these factors,” 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 decrease in pollinators by the year 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 assist them on their way.”
As per Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating species which won’t reduce crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers developing flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is required to address this threat. Together with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our development. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member states to protect our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments is subsequent to the pioneering EU-wide study on hoverflies, a further essential pollinating insect category. Issued in 2022, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly types in Europe were threatened with extinction.
