The total of wild bee types in Europe experiencing disappearance has over doubled over the past decade, while the total of at-risk butterfly has almost doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating insects was disclosed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which determined that at least over 170 bee types out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The total of butterflies threatened with extinction in Europe has grown from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the previous assessment, performed 14 years ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
Apart from their beauty and cultural value, pollinating species like bees and butterfly species are essential supports for our physical condition, our food supplies and our economic systems – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with dangers increasing for butterfly species and essential native bee varieties.”
The causes of the swift recent drops are the ongoing harm or degradation of habitats caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, draining wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitat greatly increases the threat of local extinctions.
Global heating is also revealed to be a significant danger: Over half of all at-risk butterflies in the European continent are imperilled by the climate emergency – roughly twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
Up to nine out of ten of flowering plants in Europe depend on pollination by animals, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee colonies are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee species, which perform a vital function in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type unique to the continent and the single type of this genus group in Europe, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the research category most akin to disappearance 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 more heated but in the end exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are threatened by intense drought and wildfires.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, global heating is leading to the forest boundary to move north by dozens of meters each year, with scrub invading wetlands and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice sheets to browse northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinating species is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly in European nations because of all these elements,” said Martin Warren. “The good news is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all participating nations have to turn around the drop in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are involved. We hope they can obtain the incentives that will help them on their way.”
According to Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinators which will not lower food production – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers developing margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
Jessika Roswall, portrayed the preservation condition of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “critical”.
“Urgent and collective action is required to tackle this risk. Along with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has established an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to focus on execution and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the initial Europe-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional vital group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly species in Europe were at risk of extinction.
