The number of native bee types in European nations confronting disappearance has over doubled over the past decade, and the count of endangered butterfly types has close to doubled.
This critical situation for essential pollinators was revealed by research studies for the IUCN red list, which found that at least over 170 bee varieties out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in Europe.
The total of butterfly types facing extinction in the European continent has increased from 37 to 65 since the last study, performed a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterfly species are essential supports for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” stated the IUCN director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal significant difficulties, with dangers increasing for butterfly types and crucial non-managed bee species.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the continuing destruction or damage of living environments caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators greatly increases the risk of local extinctions.
Global warming is also shown to be a major threat: Over half of all threatened butterfly species in the European continent are threatened by the climate change crisis – approximately twofold the amount as a previous decade.
Nearly ninety percent of plants that flower in Europe rely on animal pollination, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees disappear, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the continent and the single type of this genus in Europe, is now classified as critically at risk – the scientific classification closest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on mountain tops are especially at risk to global heating as they must ascend higher as their habitats become warmer but ultimately have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by severe drought and wildfires.
Meanwhile, in the Far North, climate change is resulting in the tree line to move north by dozens of meters each year, with scrub invading marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can not anymore cross the ice to feed on northern grasslands and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest environment for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is vanishing rapidly in the European continent because of all these factors,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member countries have to reverse the drop in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are land holders who are engaged. We hope they can receive the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating species which will not decrease agricultural output – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers establishing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the protection status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to address this risk. Along with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our advancement. Now, we need to focus on implementation and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the pioneering Europe-wide study on hoverflies, another essential pollinator group. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it disclosed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in European nations were facing extinction.
