The number of non-managed bee varieties in Europe confronting disappearance has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the number of threatened butterfly species has almost doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating species was revealed by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of over 1900 were at risk of extinction in Europe.
The total of butterflies at risk of extinction in the European continent has risen from 37 to 65 since the last study, carried out a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural importance, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food supplies and our financial structures – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The newest European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with dangers growing for butterfly species and essential non-managed bee species.”
The reasons of the swift recent drops are the ongoing harm or degradation of living environments caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat greatly increases the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also shown to be a major threat: Over half of all at-risk butterfly species in Europe are threatened by the climate emergency – roughly twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as 90% of flowering plants in the European continent require insect pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, wild bee colonies are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in pollinating crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type exclusive to the European continent and the single type of this biological genus in the European continent, is now assessed as critically at risk – the scientific classification nearest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global heating as they need to move uphill as their environments become warmer but eventually have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of European endemics (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, varieties such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling are imperilled by intense dry conditions and fires.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, climate change is causing the forest boundary to shift northward by tens of metres each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest environment for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly throughout European nations because of all these factors,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all participating nations have to halt the decrease in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are engaged. Let’s hope they can receive the incentives that will help them on their way.”
As per the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinating species which will not decrease crop yields – and might boost it – such as growers establishing flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
EU commissioner for environment, characterized the conservation status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to address this threat. Together with member states, the EU Commission has put in place an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our progress. Now, we need to concentrate on application and collaboration with member countries to preserve our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies follows the pioneering European-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional vital group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in Europe were facing extinction.
