The count of non-managed bee types in the European continent experiencing extinction has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the total of threatened butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinating species was unveiled by scientific studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee species out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterfly types at risk of extinction in European nations has increased from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the previous assessment, performed over a decade past. One type, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural significance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The most recent assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterflies and vital wild bee types.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the ongoing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, draining of wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The breaking up of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the threat of local extinctions.
Global heating is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterfly species in European nations are imperilled by the climate emergency – roughly twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
Nearly 90% of plants that flower in European nations depend on animal pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, native bee groups are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which perform a vital function in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the continent and the single type of this biological genus in European nations, is now evaluated as critically at risk – the research category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterflies that are solely present on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global warming as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become warmer but eventually exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (solely present in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, species such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling butterfly are imperilled by intense drought and wildfires.
In the meantime, in the Far North, global warming is leading to the timberline to shift northward by many meters each year, with bushes invading marsh and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean Arctic deer can no more cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest living space for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly across the European continent because of all these reasons,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many citizens are aware now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to turn around the decline in pollinators by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are engaged. We hope they can get the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
As stated by Martin Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of measures for pollinating species which will not decrease crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers creating margins rich in flowers around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the conservation status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “dire”.
“Prompt and unified steps is required to confront this risk. Along with member states, the Commission of the European Union has established an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to focus on application and partnership with member countries to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the initial European-wide evaluation of hoverflies, another vital group of pollinators. Published in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in European nations were threatened with extinction.
