The number of wild bee species in Europe confronting dying out has more than doubled in the last ten years, whereas the total of at-risk butterfly has almost doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinating species was unveiled by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least over 170 bee species out of nearly two thousand were threatened with extinction in European nations.
The count of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has grown from 37 to over sixty since the last study, carried out 14 years ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food supplies and our economies – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal significant difficulties, with dangers mounting for butterfly types and crucial non-managed bee types.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the persistent destruction or damage of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators significantly raises the threat of local extinctions.
Climate change is also shown to be a major threat: Fifty-two percent of all at-risk butterfly species in European nations are threatened by the climate crisis – about double the number as a previous decade.
As many as nine out of ten of blooming plants in the European continent depend on insect pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Sadly, non-managed bee groups are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the European continent and the only species of this biological genus in Europe, is now classified as critically endangered – the scientific category most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become hotter but ultimately have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by intense drought and wildfires.
At the same time, in the Far North, climate change is leading to the timberline to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with bushes invading bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the ice to feed on northern grasslands and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are facing extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest environment for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly throughout the European continent because of all these factors,” stated Martin Warren. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member countries have to turn around the decrease in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are property owners who are engaged. It is hoped they can get the incentives that will help them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which will not lower crop yields – and could improve it – such as growers establishing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to tackle this risk. In collaboration with member states, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to concentrate on application and collaboration with participating nations to preserve our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the initial European-wide study on hoverflies, an additional crucial group of pollinators. Issued in twenty-twenty-two, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
