The count of non-managed bee species in the European continent experiencing dying out has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, while the count of endangered butterfly types has almost doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinators was unveiled by research studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of 1,928 were at risk of extinction in Europe.
The number of butterflies threatened with extinction in the European continent has grown from 37 to sixty-five since the previous assessment, conducted a decade and a half ago. One type, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with risks growing for butterflies and crucial wild bee varieties.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the persistent damage or destruction of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the threat of extinctions at local level.
Global heating is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all threatened butterfly types in the European continent are imperilled by the climate change crisis – about twofold the amount as a previous decade.
Up to nine out of ten of plants that flower in European nations require pollination by animals, as per Dr Denis Michez. “Unfortunately, non-managed bee groups are in drastic decline and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees die out, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and beautiful orchid species are just a handful of illustrations.”
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, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the single type of this genus group in the European continent, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific classification closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on mountain tops are highly susceptible to global heating as they need to move uphill as their habitats become hotter but ultimately run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (solely present in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, species such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are threatened by intense dry conditions and fires.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, global heating is resulting in the tree line to shift northward by many meters each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can no more cross the ice sheets to browse northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are at risk of extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest environment for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is declining quickly throughout the European continent because of all these factors,” remarked Martin Warren. “The good news is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all participating nations have to halt the decline in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are property owners who are interested. We hope they can get the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinators which will not lower crop yields – and could improve it – such as farmers creating flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to tackle this danger. Along with member countries, the EU Commission has established an European Union-wide observation system for pollinating species based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to prioritize application and cooperation with member states to preserve our pollinating species,” she said.
The issuance of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies comes after the initial European-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinator group. Published in 2022, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in Europe were facing extinction.
