The number of wild bee varieties in the European continent confronting dying out has over doubled in the last ten years, and the total of at-risk butterfly has close to doubled.
This dire scenario for essential pollinators was disclosed by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least over 170 bee types out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterfly types threatened with extinction in Europe has risen from thirty-seven to 65 since the earlier research, conducted over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their visual charm and cultural significance, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” stated the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with risks increasing for butterfly types and vital wild bee varieties.”
The factors of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing damage or destruction of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the risk of extinctions at local level.
Climate change is also revealed to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterflies in European nations are imperilled by the climate emergency – roughly twice as many as a previous decade.
Nearly 90% of blooming plants in the European continent require insect pollination, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and beautiful orchid species are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, known for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee found only in the continent and the single type of this genus in the European continent, is now classified as critically at risk – the scientific category most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on high-altitude areas are highly susceptible to global heating as they have to climb upward as their environments become hotter but ultimately exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of European endemics (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are imperilled by extreme wildfires and drought.
At the same time, in the Arctic region, global heating is causing the tree line to shift northward by many meters each year, with scrub encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can no more cross the frozen water to graze Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The biggest living space for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast in Europe because of all these reasons,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people are aware now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to turn around the drop in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are property owners who are involved. Let’s hope they can obtain the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not lower food production – and may enhance it – such as growers developing margins rich in flowers around their farmland.
Jessika Roswall, described the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to confront this risk. Together with member states, the EU Commission has put in place an Europe-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to prioritize implementation and collaboration with member states to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the first European-wide assessment of hoverflies, another essential pollinator group. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in European nations were at risk of extinction.
