The number of native bee species in Europe facing extinction has increased twofold over the past decade, whereas the total of threatened butterfly types has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinating insects was revealed by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least over 170 bee types out of over 1900 were facing extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterfly species threatened with extinction in the European continent has increased from 37 to sixty-five since the earlier research, conducted over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are essential supports for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal significant difficulties, with threats increasing for butterfly species and vital native bee varieties.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the continuing destruction or damage of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, wetland drainage, livestock overgrazing, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators greatly increases the risk of local extinctions.
Global warming is also shown to be a significant danger: Over half of all at-risk butterfly species in the European continent are imperilled by the climate emergency – approximately twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
Nearly 90% of blooming plants in Europe rely on insect pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Sadly, wild bee groups are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee unique to the continent and the only species of this genus in Europe, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the research category nearest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are solely present on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become warmer but eventually run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of European endemics (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by intense wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic Circle, global warming is resulting in the forest boundary to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with scrub invading bog and tundra. Hotter climates also mean Arctic deer can no longer cross the frozen water to browse Arctic meadows and maintain them clear. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet.
“The largest living space for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast in the European continent because of all these reasons,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member states have to halt the decline in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are land holders who are engaged. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements 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 agricultural output – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers developing flower-rich margins around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the conservation status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “severe”.
“Prompt and unified steps is required to tackle this threat. Together with member states, the European Commission has implemented an EU-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our advancement. Now, we need to focus on implementation and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The release of the assessments on bees and butterflies is subsequent to the initial European-wide study on hoverflies, a further vital pollinating insect category. Released in 2022, it disclosed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in European nations were at risk of extinction.
