The number of wild bee types in the European continent facing extinction has over doubled over the past decade, while the count of endangered butterfly types has almost doubled.
This pressing issue for crucial pollinating species was disclosed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which established that at least 172 bee varieties out of 1,928 were facing extinction in Europe.
The total of butterfly types facing extinction in the European continent has increased from 37 to sixty-five since the previous assessment, performed over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural significance, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – maintaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” said the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with risks growing for butterfly types and vital wild bee species.”
The factors of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing destruction or damage of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and deserted farmland, wetland drainage, excessive grazing by animals, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators significantly raises the danger of local extinctions.
Global heating is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Over half of all endangered butterfly species in Europe are imperilled by the climate emergency – approximately twofold the amount as a decade ago.
Up to nine out of ten of flowering plants in European nations rely on insect pollination, as per the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a few examples.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee found only in the mainland and the only species of this biological genus in the European continent, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the research category most akin to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterflies that are solely present on high-altitude areas are highly susceptible to climate change as they have to climb upward as their living spaces become warmer but ultimately exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, species such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are endangered by severe wildfires and drought.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, climate change is causing the timberline to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with bushes encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Hotter climates also mean Arctic deer can no more cross the ice sheets to feed on northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are at risk of extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is vanishing rapidly throughout European nations because of all these factors,” stated Martin Warren. “The positive thing is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to reverse the decrease in pollinating insects by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are interested. We hope they can receive the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of action for pollinating insects which will not lower agricultural output – and may enhance it – such as farmers developing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to address this risk. Along with participating nations, the European Commission has put in place an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member states to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the initial European-wide study on hoverflies, a further crucial pollinator group. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it disclosed that 37% of all hoverfly types in Europe were at risk of extinction.
