The number of native bee varieties in Europe confronting disappearance has more than doubled over the past decade, and the total of threatened butterfly has close to doubled.
This dire scenario for crucial pollinating species was unveiled by research studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which found that at least 172 bee species out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in the European continent.
The number of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has risen from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the earlier research, conducted 14 years ago. One species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural importance, pollinating insects like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our physical condition, our food systems and our economic systems – maintaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal major obstacles, with dangers growing for butterfly types and essential non-managed bee varieties.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing harm or degradation of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and abandoned land, draining of wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitat substantially boosts the danger of disappearances in specific areas.
Global warming is also shown to be a significant danger: 52% of all endangered butterflies in Europe are endangered by the climate emergency – roughly twice as many as a decade ago.
Up to 90% of blooming plants in European nations depend on pollination by animals, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, non-managed bee groups are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which have an essential part in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, known for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee unique to the mainland and the only species of this biological genus in European nations, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific category most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterflies that are solely present on high-altitude areas are highly susceptible to climate change as they have to climb upward as their habitats become warmer but eventually run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (solely present in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by severe dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, global warming is leading to the forest boundary to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with bushes encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can no longer cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. Eight butterfly species are at risk of extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet.
“The largest environment for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly across European nations because of all these reasons,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to halt the decrease in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are engaged. We hope they can receive the incentives that will help them on their way.”
As stated by Martin Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinators which will not lower agricultural output – and may enhance it – such as agricultural producers developing bloom-filled edges around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the protection status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “dire”.
“Prompt and unified steps is needed to confront this threat. In collaboration with participating nations, the European Commission has implemented an EU-wide observation system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to focus on implementation and cooperation with participating nations to protect our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the first EU-wide study on hoverflies, an additional essential group of pollinators. Issued in 2022, it disclosed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in Europe were threatened with extinction.
