The count of non-managed bee species in Europe facing dying out has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the number of endangered butterfly species has nearly doubled.
This pressing issue for crucial pollinators was disclosed by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which found that at least 172 bee varieties out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in European nations.
The total of butterflies facing extinction in Europe has increased from over thirty-five to over sixty since the last study, carried out over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural significance, pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our well-being, our food systems and our economic systems – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that nourish us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The newest assessments of the European red list reveal major obstacles, with risks growing for butterflies and vital wild bee varieties.”
The causes of the swift recent drops are the ongoing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and deserted farmland, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The breaking up of environments suitable for 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 threatened butterfly types in European nations are endangered by the climate emergency – approximately twofold the amount as a decade ago.
As many as nine out of ten of blooming plants in Europe require animal pollination, as per the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many native plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which perform a vital function in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee types, recognized for pollinating trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the continent and the sole species of this biological genus in the European continent, is now evaluated as critically at risk – the scientific classification closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly species that are solely present on high-altitude areas are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become hotter but eventually exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of European endemics (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, species such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are endangered by intense drought and wildfires.
In the meantime, in the Arctic Circle, global warming is causing the timberline to shift northward by many meters each year, with scrub taking over wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can no more cross the frozen water to graze Arctic meadows and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet.
“The largest habitat for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast across European nations because of all these factors,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to turn around the drop in pollinating insects by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can get the motivations that will help them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which will not decrease crop yields – and may enhance it – such as agricultural producers developing flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
Jessika Roswall, described the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to address this risk. In collaboration with participating nations, the European Commission has put in place an EU-wide observation system for pollinating insects based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to prioritize application and cooperation with participating nations to preserve our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the pioneering Europe-wide study on hoverflies, a further vital pollinating insect category. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in the European continent were threatened with extinction.
