The number of native bee types in the European continent facing disappearance has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, whereas the number of threatened butterfly types has close to doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating insects was disclosed by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The total of butterflies at risk of extinction in the European continent has risen from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the earlier research, conducted over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The newest European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with risks growing for butterfly species and essential non-managed bee species.”
The causes of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing damage or destruction of living environments caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also revealed to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterfly types in European nations are threatened by the climate crisis – about twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
Nearly nine out of ten of flowering plants in the European continent depend on animal pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, wild bee colonies are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If native bees vanish, many native plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, known for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type exclusive to the mainland and the sole species of this genus in European nations, is now assessed as severely threatened – the research category most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain tops are highly susceptible to global heating as they must ascend higher as their environments become hotter but ultimately exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are imperilled by extreme dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Far North, global heating is leading to the forest boundary to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with scrub invading wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can no more cross the ice to browse Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest environment for all these pollinators is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly throughout European nations because of all these factors,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, 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 encouragements that will support them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinators which won’t reduce crop yields – and may enhance it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
Jessika Roswall, portrayed the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Prompt and unified steps is required to confront this danger. Together with participating nations, the European Commission has established an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinators based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will aid in following our progress. Now, we need to prioritize execution and collaboration with member states to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.
The issuance of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the first EU-wide study on hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinating insect category. Issued in 2022, it showed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in Europe were at risk of extinction.
