The count of native bee varieties in Europe experiencing dying out has more than doubled in the last ten years, and the total of threatened butterfly species has close to doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinators was unveiled by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which established that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The number of butterflies at risk of extinction in Europe has increased from over thirty-five to 65 since the last study, performed a decade and a half ago. One species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
“Beyond their visual charm and cultural value, pollinating insects like bees and butterfly species are essential supports for our physical condition, our food supplies and our economic systems – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal significant difficulties, with dangers growing for butterfly types and crucial wild bee varieties.”
The reasons of the swift recent drops are the ongoing destruction or damage of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, draining of wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the risk of extinctions at local level.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Over half of all at-risk butterfly types in European nations are imperilled by the climate crisis – about double the number as a decade ago.
As many as ninety percent of plants that flower in the European continent require animal pollination, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, native bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If native bees vanish, many non-cultivated plants might be in danger as well – of which meadows rich in flowers and beautiful orchid species are just a handful of illustrations.”
15 varieties 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, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type unique to the European continent and the only species of this biological genus in Europe, is now assessed as critically at risk – the scientific category most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are highly susceptible to global heating as they have to climb upward as their environments become hotter but eventually run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, varieties such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are imperilled by intense wildfires and drought.
In the meantime, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is causing the timberline to move north by dozens of meters each year, with bushes taking over marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can no longer cross the ice sheets to feed on northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are at risk of extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest living space for all these pollinating species is grassland rich in flowers and that is declining quickly across European nations because of all these elements,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The good news is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to halt the decline in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are land holders who are engaged. Let’s hope they can receive the incentives that will help them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which will not lower food production – and might boost it – such as growers developing bloom-filled edges around their farmland.
Jessika Roswall, portrayed the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to confront this risk. In collaboration with member states, the European Commission has implemented an Europe-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to prioritize execution and collaboration with member countries to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The issuance of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the first EU-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinating insect category. Published in 2022, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
