The number of wild bee species in European nations experiencing disappearance has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, while the total of threatened butterfly types has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for crucial pollinators was disclosed by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The number of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has risen from 37 to over sixty since the last study, carried out a decade and a half ago. One species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their beauty and cultural value, pollinating insects like bees and butterfly species are essential supports for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – supporting the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with dangers mounting for butterfly types and vital native bee varieties.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the ongoing destruction or damage of living environments caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the risk of extinctions at local level.
Global heating is also demonstrated to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in Europe are endangered by the climate change crisis – about twice as many as a decade ago.
Up to 90% of plants that flower in European nations require animal pollination, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, wild bee colonies are in severe drop and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the European continent and the single type of this biological genus in Europe, is now assessed as severely threatened – the research category nearest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on mountain tops are especially at risk to climate change as they have to climb upward as their environments become hotter but ultimately run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of European endemics (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, species such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling are endangered by intense wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, global heating is leading to the tree line to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean Arctic deer can no more cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest environment for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is declining quickly across European nations because of all these factors,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The good news is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member countries have to halt the decrease in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are interested. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
As stated by 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 agricultural producers creating bloom-filled edges around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the protection status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “critical”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to confront this danger. Along with member states, the European Commission has established an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to prioritize execution and cooperation with member states to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies comes after the pioneering European-wide study on hoverflies, an additional vital pollinator group. Issued in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
