The number of native bee species in the European continent facing disappearance has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, whereas the number of at-risk butterfly types has almost doubled.
This critical situation for essential pollinating insects was revealed by research studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least 172 bee types out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterfly species facing extinction in European nations has risen from 37 to over sixty since the previous assessment, performed a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinators like bees and butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food supplies and our economies – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The latest European red list assessments reveal significant difficulties, with threats increasing for butterflies and crucial wild bee varieties.”
The factors of the rapid recent declines are the persistent destruction or damage of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and abandoned land, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the use of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoids. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the risk of local extinctions.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a major threat: Fifty-two percent of all threatened butterfly species in the European continent are threatened by the climate crisis – approximately twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as ninety percent of plants that flower in European nations rely on pollination by animals, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, wild bee colonies are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, known for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species exclusive to the mainland and the sole species of this genus group in the European continent, is now classified as severely threatened – the scientific classification most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly types that are only found on high-altitude areas are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they must ascend higher as their environments become more heated but ultimately exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of types unique to Europe (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are threatened by extreme drought and wildfires.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, climate change is leading to the timberline to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with bushes taking over bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice to graze Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest environment for all these pollinating species is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast throughout European nations because of all these elements,” remarked a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many citizens are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to halt the drop 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 obtain the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
According to Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which will not lower crop yields – and could improve it – such as growers creating flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is required to address this risk. Along with participating nations, the EU Commission has put in place an EU-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to focus on implementation and partnership with participating nations to preserve our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the bee and butterfly assessments is subsequent to the pioneering Europe-wide study on hoverflies, a further essential pollinator group. Issued in 2022, it showed that over one-third of all hoverfly types in Europe were facing extinction.
