The number of native bee varieties in the European continent confronting extinction has more than doubled over the past decade, while the count of threatened butterfly has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinators was unveiled by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least 172 bee varieties out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The total of butterfly species facing extinction in European nations has risen from thirty-seven to over sixty since the last study, carried out a decade and a half ago. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural importance, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are essential supports for our health, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterfly species and essential native bee types.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing damage or destruction of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoids. The division of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the risk of extinctions at local level.
Global warming is also revealed to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterfly species in Europe are endangered by the climate emergency – approximately twice as many as a previous decade.
As many as 90% of flowering plants in the European continent rely on pollination by animals, according to Dr Denis Michez. “Regrettably, wild bee colonies are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many native plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a few examples.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee types, known for aiding tree pollination such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee unique to the mainland and the only species of this biological genus in European nations, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific classification closest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on high-altitude areas are highly susceptible to global heating as they need to move uphill as their environments become hotter but ultimately have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are threatened by intense wildfires and drought.
At the same time, in the Arctic region, climate change is resulting in the tree line to advance northwards by many meters each year, with scrub taking over marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the ice sheets to browse Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest environment for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast throughout Europe because of all these factors,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all participating nations have to reverse the drop in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are land holders who are engaged. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements that will support them on their way.”
According to Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating species which won’t reduce crop yields – and may enhance it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to address this danger. Together with member states, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an European Union-wide observation system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our advancement. Now, we need to concentrate on application and partnership with member states to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies follows the initial Europe-wide evaluation of hoverflies, a further essential group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly types in Europe were facing extinction.
