The total of native bee varieties in the European continent facing extinction has more than doubled in the last ten years, while the number of threatened butterfly species has almost doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating insects was unveiled by research studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least 172 bee species out of 1,928 were at risk of extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterflies threatened with extinction in Europe has increased from 37 to over sixty since the last study, conducted a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their beauty and cultural value, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food chains and our financial structures – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal significant difficulties, with dangers growing for butterfly types and crucial non-managed bee types.”
The factors of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing harm or degradation of habitats caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoids. The fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitat significantly raises the danger of extinctions at local level.
Climate change is also revealed to be a primary risk: Over half of all threatened butterfly species in Europe are endangered by the climate crisis – roughly twice as many as a decade ago.
Up to 90% of plants that flower in European nations depend on animal pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Sadly, non-managed bee populations are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which have an essential part in fertilizing peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee types, known for fertilizing trees such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the European continent and the single type of this genus in European nations, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific category closest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are solely present on mountain tops are especially at risk to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become warmer but in the end exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of European endemics (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, types such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling butterfly are endangered by extreme dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Far North, global warming is leading to the forest boundary to shift northward by many meters each year, with scrub invading wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can no more cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is declining quickly in the European continent because of all these elements,” remarked one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all participating nations have to turn around the drop in pollinating insects by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are interested. It is hoped they can get the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of measures for pollinating species which will not lower food production – and may enhance it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, described the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to confront this danger. Along with participating nations, the European Commission has established an Europe-wide observation system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our advancement. Now, we need to focus on implementation and collaboration with member states to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The release of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the initial Europe-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional vital pollinator group. Issued in 2022, it disclosed that 37% of all hoverfly varieties in European nations were at risk of extinction.
