The number of native bee species in Europe experiencing extinction has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the number of threatened butterfly has close to doubled.
This critical situation for essential pollinating insects was disclosed by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly types facing extinction in European nations has risen from 37 to over sixty since the last study, carried out over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural significance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” stated the IUCN’s director general. “The newest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with risks increasing for butterfly species and essential non-managed bee varieties.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the ongoing damage or destruction of habitats caused by intensive agriculture and abandoned land, wetland drainage, livestock overgrazing, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators significantly raises the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also shown to be a primary risk: Over half of all endangered butterfly species in European nations are imperilled by the climate crisis – approximately double the number as a ten years ago.
Nearly ninety percent of flowering plants in European nations rely on insect pollination, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, wild bee colonies are in drastic decline and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees die out, many non-cultivated plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”
15 varieties of bumblebees, which have an essential part in pollinating crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the European continent and the single type of this genus in Europe, is now assessed as critically at risk – the scientific classification most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are only found on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become warmer but eventually run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of European endemics (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean, types such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are threatened by extreme wildfires and drought.
At the same time, in the Arctic region, climate change is causing the tree line to move north by many meters each year, with bushes taking over marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can no more cross the ice sheets to feed on Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest environment for all these pollinators is grassland rich in flowers and that is declining quickly across European nations because of all these reasons,” remarked one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many citizens are concerned now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to reverse the decrease in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are land holders who are engaged. It is hoped they can receive the incentives that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which will not decrease food production – and could improve it – such as growers creating flower-rich margins around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, described the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.
“Prompt and unified steps is needed to address this risk. Along with member states, the European Commission has established an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member countries to preserve our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the assessments on bees and butterflies is subsequent to the initial EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional vital group of pollinators. Issued in twenty-twenty-two, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly species in Europe were threatened with extinction.
