The number of non-managed bee types in Europe experiencing extinction has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, while the total of endangered butterfly has almost doubled.
This critical situation for essential pollinating insects was revealed by scientific studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterfly species facing extinction in the European continent has grown from 37 to 65 since the previous assessment, conducted 14 years ago. One type, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their beauty and cultural value, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food systems and our economic systems – supporting the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” stated the IUCN director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with dangers growing for butterflies and crucial wild bee varieties.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the persistent harm or degradation of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, draining of wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also revealed to be a primary risk: Over half of all at-risk butterfly species in Europe are imperilled by the climate change crisis – about double the number as a previous decade.
Nearly nine out of ten of flowering plants in the European continent depend on pollination by animals, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, non-managed bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which have an essential part in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the mainland and the only species of this genus in Europe, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the research category nearest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are only found on high-altitude areas are highly susceptible to climate change as they need to move uphill as their living spaces become hotter but eventually have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, species such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by extreme drought and wildfires.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, global warming is leading to the tree line to shift northward by tens of metres each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can not anymore cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinating species is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly in the European continent because of all these factors,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member states have to reverse the decrease in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are involved. We hope they can obtain the motivations that will help them on their way.”
As stated by Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of steps for pollinators which will not lower crop yields – and might boost it – such as agricultural producers developing margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to tackle this risk. In collaboration with member states, the EU Commission has established an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to prioritize implementation and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the first European-wide study on hoverflies, an additional vital pollinator group. Released in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly types in Europe were threatened with extinction.
