The number of native bee species in Europe facing extinction has over doubled over the past decade, while the number of threatened butterfly has close to doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating species was disclosed by scientific studies for the red list of threatened species, which established that at least 172 bee types out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterfly types facing extinction in Europe has increased from thirty-seven to 65 since the last study, carried out over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The newest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with threats increasing for butterflies and crucial non-managed bee species.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the persistent harm or degradation of habitats caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, draining wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the use of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat substantially boosts the threat of local extinctions.
Climate change is also shown to be a significant danger: 52% of all at-risk butterfly types in the European continent are endangered by the climate change crisis – roughly twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as 90% of plants that flower in the European continent depend on animal pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, non-managed bee colonies are in severe drop and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee species, which perform a vital function in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, known for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type unique to the mainland and the single type of this genus in Europe, is now classified as critically at risk – the scientific category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are highly susceptible to global heating as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become warmer but in the end run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of European endemics (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by severe drought and wildfires.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, global heating is leading to the forest boundary to shift northward by tens of metres each year, with scrub encroaching on marsh and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can no longer cross the ice to browse Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast in the European continent because of all these elements,” remarked a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The good news is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to turn around the decrease in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are interested. We hope they can get the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of measures for pollinating species which won’t reduce agricultural output – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers developing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
Jessika Roswall, portrayed the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to confront this risk. Along with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has established an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our development. Now, we need to focus on execution and cooperation with member states to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The release of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the initial EU-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional vital pollinating insect category. Issued in twenty-twenty-two, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in Europe were at risk of extinction.
