The total of non-managed bee varieties in the European continent confronting extinction has over doubled in the last ten years, whereas the number of endangered butterfly species has almost doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating species was revealed by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least 172 bee species out of 1,928 were at risk of extinction in European nations.
The count of butterflies at risk of extinction in Europe has increased from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the last study, conducted a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our health, our food systems and our economies – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent assessments of the European red list reveal significant difficulties, with risks mounting for butterfly types and crucial wild bee types.”
The causes of the quick recent decreases are the continuing harm or degradation of habitats caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The division of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the risk of extinctions at local level.
Global heating is also revealed to be a major threat: Fifty-two percent of all at-risk butterflies in European nations are imperilled by the climate emergency – approximately double the number as a ten years ago.
Nearly ninety percent of blooming plants in Europe require pollination by animals, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, native bee groups are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees vanish, many wild plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which have an essential part in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the only species of this genus in Europe, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the scientific classification closest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterflies that are only found on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to global warming as they need to move uphill as their habitats become warmer but in the end exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are imperilled by extreme drought and wildfires.
At the same time, in the Far North, global warming is causing the forest boundary to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with bushes invading wetlands and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can no longer cross the frozen water to browse northern grasslands and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast throughout the European continent because of all these elements,” said 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 drop in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are engaged. Let’s hope they can get the incentives that will help them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not decrease crop yields – and could improve it – such as growers creating margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is required to confront this danger. In collaboration with member states, the European Commission has established an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to focus on implementation and collaboration with member countries to preserve our pollinators,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the pioneering European-wide study on hoverflies, an additional essential pollinator group. Published in 2022, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly types in the European continent were facing extinction.
