The total of non-managed bee varieties in European nations experiencing disappearance has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the total of at-risk butterfly has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for crucial pollinating species was disclosed by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least 172 bee types out of nearly two thousand were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The number of butterfly types threatened with extinction in European nations has increased from thirty-seven to over sixty since the last study, carried out a decade and a half ago. One species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
In addition to their visual charm and cultural value, pollinating species like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” stated the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent assessments of the European red list reveal major obstacles, with threats increasing for butterfly species and crucial non-managed bee species.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the continuing damage or destruction of habitats caused by farming intensification and deserted farmland, draining of wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The division of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the threat of local extinctions.
Climate change is also revealed to be a significant danger: Over half of all at-risk butterfly types in the European continent are endangered by the climate crisis – about twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
Nearly nine out of ten of plants that flower in Europe require animal pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in fertilizing peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, known for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type unique to the mainland and the single type of this genus in the European continent, is now evaluated as critically at risk – the scientific category most akin to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly species that are solely present on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global heating as they have to climb upward as their environments become more heated but eventually run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, species such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are threatened by intense dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, global heating is leading to the forest boundary to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can no longer cross the frozen water to graze Arctic meadows and keep them open. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinators is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast across Europe because of all these elements,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people 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 the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are land holders who are interested. Let’s hope they can receive the incentives that will assist them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinators which won’t reduce crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers establishing flower-rich margins around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to confront this threat. Together with member states, the Commission of the European Union has established an European Union-wide observation system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our advancement. Now, we need to focus on implementation and collaboration with participating nations to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the pioneering European-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional vital pollinator group. Published in 2022, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly types in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
