The total of native bee types in European nations confronting disappearance has more than doubled over the past decade, and the count of at-risk butterfly has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for essential pollinators was unveiled by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has grown from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the last study, carried out over a decade past. One type, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food chains and our financial structures – maintaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with dangers increasing for butterfly types and vital wild bee types.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the persistent damage or destruction of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and abandoned land, wetland drainage, excessive grazing by animals, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the threat of extinctions at local level.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a major threat: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in European nations are threatened by the climate crisis – about twice as many as a ten years ago.
Nearly nine out of ten of flowering plants in the European continent rely on pollination by animals, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, non-managed bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many native plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a few examples.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, known for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee found only in the continent and the only species of this genus group in the European continent, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the scientific classification most akin to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are especially at risk to climate change as they must ascend higher as their environments become warmer but ultimately run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of European endemics (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling butterfly are endangered by severe drought and wildfires.
At the same time, in the Far North, climate change is causing the forest boundary to advance northwards by many meters each year, with scrub encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Hotter climates also mean caribou can no longer cross the ice sheets to feed on Arctic meadows and keep them open. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinators is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast across Europe because of all these reasons,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member countries have to halt the drop in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are land holders who are involved. It is hoped they can receive the motivations that will support them on their way.”
As per Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinators which will not lower crop yields – and might boost it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the preservation condition of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to address this danger. Together with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will assist in monitoring our progress. Now, we need to focus on execution and partnership with member countries to preserve our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the first European-wide study on hoverflies, another essential group of pollinators. Published in 2022, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in the European continent were facing extinction.
