The total of wild bee species in the European continent confronting disappearance has more than doubled in the last ten years, whereas the total of at-risk butterfly species has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinating species was revealed by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least 172 bee species out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The count of butterflies threatened with extinction in Europe has increased from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the previous assessment, performed a decade and a half ago. One species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
In addition to their visual charm and cultural value, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our health, our food systems and our financial structures – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” said the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal significant difficulties, with dangers growing for butterfly types and crucial wild bee species.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining of wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also shown to be a significant danger: Over half of all endangered butterfly types in European nations are imperilled by the climate emergency – roughly double the number as a previous decade.
Up to ninety percent of plants that flower in the European continent depend on insect pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, wild bee groups are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees die out, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which perform a vital function in pollinating crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the single type of this genus in Europe, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the research category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global heating as they need to move uphill as their habitats become hotter but eventually exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of European endemics (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are endangered by extreme drought and wildfires.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is resulting in the timberline to advance northwards by many meters each year, with scrub taking over bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic meadows and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is declining quickly across European nations because of all these elements,” said Martin Warren. “The good news is that so many citizens are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to halt the drop in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are land holders who are engaged. We hope they can get the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
According to Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating species which won’t reduce food production – and could improve it – such as growers developing flower-rich margins around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, characterized the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to address this danger. In collaboration with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an European Union-wide observation system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to prioritize implementation and cooperation with participating nations to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the initial European-wide study on hoverflies, another essential pollinating insect category. Published in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly species in European nations were at risk of extinction.
