The total of non-managed bee types in Europe experiencing dying out has more than doubled in the last ten years, while the count of endangered butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinators was disclosed by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of nearly two thousand were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterfly species facing extinction in the European continent has grown from over thirty-five to 65 since the last study, conducted over a decade past. One type, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural significance, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The latest European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with dangers increasing for butterflies and essential wild bee species.”
The causes of the quick recent decreases are the persistent destruction or damage of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and abandoned land, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the threat of local extinctions.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: 52% of all endangered butterfly species in European nations are endangered by the climate crisis – about double the number as a previous decade.
As many as ninety percent of plants that flower in European nations rely on insect pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, non-managed bee groups are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by domesticated hives,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a few examples.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which perform a vital function in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, known for pollinating trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the European continent and the sole species of this genus in Europe, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific classification most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to climate change as they must ascend higher as their habitats become warmer but in the end have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling are imperilled by extreme drought and wildfires.
In the meantime, in the Far North, climate change is resulting in the tree line to move north by many meters each year, with bushes invading bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean Arctic deer can no longer cross the ice to feed on Arctic meadows and maintain them clear. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest environment for all these pollinators is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly throughout the European continent because of all these factors,” remarked a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people are aware now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member states have to halt the decline in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are land holders who are engaged. Let’s hope they can get the encouragements that will support them on their way.”
According to Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating species which will not lower food production – and might boost it – such as agricultural producers establishing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is required to tackle this risk. Along with participating nations, the European Commission has put in place an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our advancement. Now, we need to concentrate on execution and partnership with participating nations to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the pioneering European-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinator group. Published in 2022, it disclosed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in the European continent were threatened with extinction.
