The count of non-managed bee species in the European continent experiencing dying out has over doubled in the last ten years, while the number of at-risk butterfly species has nearly 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 over 170 bee types out of 1,928 were facing extinction in Europe.
The count of butterfly types threatened with extinction in European nations has increased from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the previous assessment, carried out a decade and a half ago. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their visual charm and cultural importance, pollinators like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our well-being, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal major obstacles, with dangers mounting for butterflies and crucial non-managed bee varieties.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the continuing harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, wetland drainage, livestock overgrazing, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Global warming is also revealed to be a primary risk: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in Europe are endangered by the climate crisis – about double the number as a ten years ago.
Nearly 90% of blooming plants in Europe rely on animal pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Sadly, native bee colonies are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many native plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which perform a vital function in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the European continent and the only species of this biological genus in the European continent, is now classified as critically at risk – the research category closest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are only found on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to climate change as they must ascend higher as their environments become hotter but in the end run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are imperilled by extreme dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, climate change is leading to the forest boundary to move north by dozens of meters each year, with bushes encroaching on marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can no more cross the ice to feed on northern grasslands and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest environment for all these pollinators is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly across European nations because of all these elements,” remarked a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to halt the decrease in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are interested. Let’s hope they can obtain the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
As per the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which will not decrease food production – and might boost it – such as growers establishing margins rich in flowers around their farmland.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to confront this risk. Together with participating nations, the European Commission has established an European Union-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 focus on application and partnership with member states to protect our pollinators,” she said.
The release of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the initial Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, another vital group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in the European continent were threatened with extinction.
