The total of non-managed bee species in European nations facing dying out has over doubled in the last ten years, whereas the count of at-risk butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinators was unveiled by research studies for the IUCN red list, which established that at least 172 bee species out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly species facing extinction in European nations has risen from thirty-seven to over sixty since the previous assessment, carried out over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural importance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food systems and our financial structures – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The newest European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with risks increasing for butterflies and vital non-managed bee types.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the ongoing damage or destruction of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, draining of wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitat greatly increases the risk of local extinctions.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all threatened butterfly types in the European continent are threatened by the climate change crisis – about twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
Nearly ninety percent of blooming plants in the European continent require animal pollination, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, non-managed 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 threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species exclusive to the continent and the single type of this biological genus in the European continent, is now classified as critically at risk – the scientific category closest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on mountain tops are especially at risk to global heating as they need to move uphill as their habitats become more heated but in the end have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of European endemics (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling butterfly are endangered by extreme dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Arctic Circle, global warming is leading to the timberline to move north by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush invading marsh and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean Arctic deer can no longer cross the ice to graze northern grasslands and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest habitat for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly throughout the European continent because of all these reasons,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The good news is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all participating nations have to reverse the drop in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are interested. We hope they can get the incentives 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 lower food production – and might boost it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed 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 EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to prioritize application and cooperation with participating nations to protect our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the initial European-wide study on hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinator group. Published in 2022, it showed that over one-third of all hoverfly species in European nations were at risk of extinction.
