The number of native bee species in Europe facing dying out has over doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the number of threatened butterfly has almost doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating species was unveiled by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least 172 bee species out of 1,928 were facing extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterflies facing extinction in Europe has increased from thirty-seven to 65 since the earlier research, performed a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their beauty and cultural value, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our health, our food systems and our economies – supporting the fruits, veggies and seeds that nourish us,” stated Grethel Aguilar. “The latest European red list evaluations reveal significant difficulties, with threats growing for butterfly types and crucial native bee types.”
The causes of the swift recent drops are the persistent damage or destruction of habitats caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the risk of local extinctions.
Global heating is also shown to be a major threat: 52% of all at-risk butterfly types in Europe are threatened by the climate crisis – roughly twice as many as a ten years ago.
Nearly 90% of flowering plants in the European continent depend on animal pollination, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, non-managed bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and beautiful orchid species are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee found only in the European continent and the single type of this genus in the European continent, is now classified as critically endangered – the scientific category closest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are only found on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to climate change as they need to move uphill as their environments become warmer but ultimately run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are endangered by severe wildfires and drought.
At the same time, in the Far North, global heating is resulting in the tree line to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with underbrush taking over bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can not anymore cross the ice sheets to browse Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest environment for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast in the European continent because of all these reasons,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all participating nations have to reverse the decline in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are land holders who are engaged. We hope they can get the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
As per Martin Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinating insects which won’t reduce food production – and might boost it – such as agricultural producers establishing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, described the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to confront this danger. Along with member states, the European Commission has implemented an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration law, which will assist in monitoring our development. Now, we need to prioritize application and cooperation with member countries to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the initial EU-wide study on hoverflies, another vital pollinator group. Released in 2022, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in the European continent were facing extinction.
