The number of wild bee species in the European continent facing disappearance has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, whereas the total of endangered butterfly species has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinating species was disclosed by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least 172 bee types out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly types facing extinction in Europe has grown from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the previous assessment, conducted a decade and a half ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” stated the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal significant difficulties, with risks growing for butterflies and crucial native bee types.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the persistent damage or destruction of living environments caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators greatly increases the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also shown to be a major threat: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterflies in European nations are endangered by the climate change crisis – about twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as 90% of flowering plants in Europe depend on pollination by animals, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, native bee populations are in drastic decline and cannot readily be substituted by domesticated hives,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which perform a vital function in aiding the pollination of crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the European continent and the single type of this genus group in Europe, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are only found on high-altitude areas are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become hotter but ultimately exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, types such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are endangered by extreme dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is leading to the forest boundary to shift northward by tens of metres each year, with scrub encroaching on bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean Arctic deer can no more cross the ice to graze Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet.
“The biggest living space for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast throughout the European continent because of all these elements,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all participating nations have to reverse the decline in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are land holders who are engaged. We hope they can receive the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not lower crop yields – and might boost it – such as growers developing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to address this threat. In collaboration with participating nations, the EU Commission has established an EU-wide observation system for pollinating species based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will assist in monitoring our progress. Now, we need to prioritize implementation and partnership with participating nations to safeguard our pollinating species,” she said.
The issuance of the assessments on bees and butterflies is subsequent to the pioneering EU-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional essential group of pollinators. Issued in 2022, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in European nations were at risk of extinction.
