The total of native bee types in Europe confronting dying out has more than doubled in the last ten years, and the total of threatened butterfly species has nearly doubled.
This dire scenario for essential pollinating species was revealed by research studies for the IUCN red list, which found that at least over 170 bee varieties out of nearly two thousand were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly types threatened with extinction in the European continent has increased from 37 to 65 since the previous assessment, conducted over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our physical condition, our food chains and our economic systems – maintaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The newest European red list evaluations reveal significant difficulties, with threats growing for butterflies and crucial non-managed bee varieties.”
The factors of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing destruction or damage of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and abandoned land, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators greatly increases the risk of extinctions at local level.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Over half of all threatened butterfly species in Europe are imperilled by the climate change crisis – about double the number as a previous decade.
As many as nine out of ten of blooming plants in Europe rely on insect pollination, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, native bee colonies are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many wild plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebees, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the European continent and the only species of this genus group in European nations, is now classified as severely threatened – the scientific classification closest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are highly susceptible to global heating as they need to move uphill as their habitats become more heated but ultimately have no room left. In southern Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are endangered by severe wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Far North, climate change is resulting in the tree line to advance northwards by many meters each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Hotter climates also mean caribou can no more cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest environment for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is declining quickly in Europe because of all these reasons,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all participating nations have to turn around the drop in pollinating insects by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are interested. We hope they can receive the incentives that will support them on their way.”
According to the coordinator, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinating species which won’t reduce agricultural output – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers establishing margins rich in flowers around their farmland.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Prompt and unified steps is necessary to tackle this threat. Along with participating nations, the European Commission has established an EU-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to prioritize execution and partnership with participating nations to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The issuance of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies comes after the first Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, another essential pollinator group. Published in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in Europe were facing extinction.
