The total of non-managed bee species in European nations experiencing dying out has over doubled in the last ten years, whereas the total of at-risk butterfly has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinating species was disclosed by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of 1,928 were facing extinction in Europe.
The number of butterflies threatened with extinction in the European continent has increased from thirty-seven to over sixty since the previous assessment, conducted a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural importance, pollinating insects like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our well-being, our food systems and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal significant difficulties, with threats increasing for butterfly types and crucial wild bee species.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the continuing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and abandoned land, draining of wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat greatly increases the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also shown to be a primary risk: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in European nations are endangered by the climate crisis – roughly twofold the amount as a previous decade.
Nearly ninety percent of flowering plants in the European continent require animal pollination, as per the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, wild bee populations are in severe drop and are not easily replaceable by domesticated hives,” he said. “If native bees vanish, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which have an essential part in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the European continent and the sole species of this genus in the European continent, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global heating as they need to move uphill as their living spaces become warmer but ultimately exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, species such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are threatened by extreme wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is causing the forest boundary to move north by dozens of meters each year, with bushes taking over marsh and tundra. Hotter climates also mean caribou can not anymore cross the ice sheets to browse Arctic meadows and maintain them clear. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest environment for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is vanishing rapidly across the European continent because of all these factors,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to reverse the decline in pollinating insects by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are involved. It is hoped they can get the motivations that will support them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinators which will not decrease crop yields – and might boost it – such as farmers establishing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the conservation status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “critical”.
“Prompt and unified steps is needed to confront this danger. Together with member countries, the EU Commission has put in place an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to concentrate on application and collaboration with participating nations to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies follows the first EU-wide study on hoverflies, another essential group of pollinators. Released in twenty-twenty-two, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly types in the European continent were facing extinction.
