The number of non-managed bee types in the European continent experiencing dying out has increased twofold in the last ten years, while the count of at-risk butterfly species has nearly doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinating insects was revealed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterfly types facing extinction in European nations has grown from 37 to sixty-five since the earlier research, conducted 14 years ago. One species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food systems and our economies – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” stated the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with dangers mounting for butterflies and crucial non-managed bee varieties.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the continuing destruction or damage of habitats caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, wetland drainage, excessive grazing by animals, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoids. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the danger of local extinctions.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a major threat: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterfly types in Europe are threatened by the climate emergency – approximately twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as nine out of ten of plants that flower in Europe depend on insect pollination, as per the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the continent and the sole species of this genus in European nations, is now classified as critically endangered – the scientific category nearest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they need to move uphill as their living spaces become more heated but eventually exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (solely present in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean, varieties such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling are endangered by extreme wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, climate change is causing the tree line to shift northward by many meters each year, with bushes invading bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can no more cross the ice to browse Arctic grasslands and keep them open. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest living space for all these pollinators is grassland rich in flowers and that is disappearing very fast throughout the European continent because of all these factors,” remarked one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many citizens are concerned now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member countries have to turn around the decrease in pollinating insects by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are involved. Let’s hope they can obtain the incentives that will help them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of measures for pollinating species which will not decrease agricultural output – and may enhance it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to tackle this threat. Together with member states, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will aid in following our progress. Now, we need to focus on application and cooperation with participating nations to protect our pollinators,” she said.
The release of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the initial EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, another essential pollinator group. Released in 2022, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly varieties in European nations were threatened with extinction.
