The number of non-managed bee varieties in the European continent confronting extinction has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, and the total of endangered butterfly has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinators was disclosed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which established that at least over 170 bee species out of 1,928 were at risk of extinction in Europe.
The count of butterfly types threatened with extinction in the European continent has risen from 37 to sixty-five since the previous assessment, conducted a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinating insects like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food systems and our financial structures – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats mounting for butterfly species and crucial native bee types.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the ongoing harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat greatly increases the risk of local extinctions.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a major threat: 52% of all endangered butterflies in the European continent are endangered by the climate change crisis – about twofold the amount as a previous decade.
Up to ninety percent of plants that flower in the European continent rely on insect pollination, as per the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee colonies are in severe drop and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If native bees die out, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, famous for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the sole species of this genus in Europe, is now classified as severely threatened – the scientific category nearest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to climate change as they must ascend higher as their habitats become hotter but in the end exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean, varieties such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are endangered by severe drought and wildfires.
At the same time, in the Arctic region, climate change is causing the tree line to shift northward by many meters each year, with bushes encroaching on bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can no more cross the ice to feed on Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are facing extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinating species is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly in the European continent because of all these reasons,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people are aware now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all participating nations have to halt the decline in pollinating insects by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are engaged. It is hoped they can obtain the incentives that will help them on their way.”
As per the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinating insects which will not decrease food production – and may enhance it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to tackle this threat. Together with member states, the EU Commission has established an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member states to protect our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments is subsequent to the initial Europe-wide study on hoverflies, a further vital pollinating insect category. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it disclosed that 37% of all hoverfly varieties in the European continent were threatened with extinction.
