The number of wild bee varieties in European nations facing dying out has more than doubled in the last ten years, whereas the count of at-risk butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This dire scenario for essential pollinators was unveiled by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least 172 bee varieties out of nearly two thousand were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The number of butterfly species threatened with extinction in European nations has increased from thirty-seven to over sixty since the earlier research, performed a decade and a half ago. A single species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinators like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our well-being, our food supplies and our economic systems – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The newest European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with risks growing for butterfly types and vital wild bee species.”
The causes of the swift recent drops are the continuing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, draining of wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of pollinator-friendly habitat significantly raises the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a major threat: Over half of all endangered butterfly types in Europe are threatened by the climate change crisis – about twice as many as a decade ago.
Up to 90% of plants that flower in the European continent require insect pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, non-managed bee populations are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many native plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in fertilizing peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type unique to the European continent and the only species of this genus group in the European continent, is now assessed as severely threatened – the research category nearest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain tops are especially at risk to global heating as they have to climb upward as their environments become more heated but ultimately have no room left. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are imperilled by severe dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, global warming is causing the forest boundary to move north by many meters each year, with scrub invading bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean Arctic deer can no longer cross the ice sheets to browse northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest habitat for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly in the European continent because of all these factors,” said Martin Warren. “The good news is that so many citizens care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all participating nations have to reverse the decrease in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are involved. Let’s hope they can receive the motivations that will help them on their way.”
According to the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which won’t reduce agricultural output – and may enhance it – such as growers creating flower-rich margins around their farmland.
EU commissioner for environment, characterized the preservation condition of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to tackle this risk. Together with participating nations, the European Commission has established an EU-wide observation system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to focus on implementation and cooperation with participating nations to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments is subsequent to the pioneering Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional crucial group of pollinators. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in Europe were facing extinction.
