The count of wild bee species in Europe confronting extinction has over doubled over the past decade, while the count of at-risk butterfly has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for vital pollinating insects was disclosed by research studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which established that at least 172 bee varieties out of over 1900 were facing extinction in Europe.
The total of butterfly species threatened with extinction in the European continent has increased from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the previous assessment, conducted over a decade past. One type, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural importance, pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our well-being, our food chains and our economies – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The newest European red list assessments reveal significant difficulties, with risks mounting for butterfly types and essential wild bee varieties.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing destruction or damage of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the risk of local extinctions.
Global warming is also revealed to be a significant danger: 52% of all at-risk butterflies in Europe are threatened by the climate change crisis – roughly twice as many as a previous decade.
Nearly 90% of blooming plants in the European continent rely on insect pollination, according to Dr Denis Michez. “Unfortunately, native bee populations are in drastic decline and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees die out, many native plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which have an essential part in fertilizing peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the sole species of this genus group in European nations, is now assessed as critically at risk – the scientific category most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are solely present on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to climate change as they need to move uphill as their environments become more heated but in the end exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of European endemics (solely present in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are threatened by extreme dry conditions and fires.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, global heating is causing the forest boundary to move north by many meters each year, with bushes encroaching on marsh and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can no more cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast throughout the European continent because of all these factors,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many people are aware now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to halt the decline in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are engaged. Let’s hope they can receive the incentives that will assist them on their way.”
As per the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinating insects which will not decrease crop yields – and may enhance it – such as farmers developing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is required to address this danger. Together with member states, the Commission of the European Union has established an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our advancement. Now, we need to focus on application and partnership with member states to protect our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the first European-wide study on hoverflies, another essential pollinating insect category. Published in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
