The total of native bee species in the European continent confronting extinction has more than doubled in the last ten years, and the count of endangered butterfly types has close to doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinators was disclosed by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which found that at least over 170 bee species out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The number of butterflies at risk of extinction in the European continent has risen from thirty-seven to 65 since the last study, carried out 14 years ago. One type, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our health, our food systems and our economic systems – supporting the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal significant difficulties, with risks increasing for butterfly species and vital non-managed bee species.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and deserted farmland, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the threat of extinctions at local level.
Climate change is also revealed to be a significant danger: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterfly types in European nations are threatened by the climate crisis – roughly twice as many as a previous decade.
Nearly nine out of ten of flowering plants in Europe rely on animal pollination, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, wild bee colonies are in drastic decline and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees die out, many non-cultivated plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the only species of this biological genus in the European continent, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the research category nearest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to global warming as they need to move uphill as their environments become hotter but eventually run out of space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, species such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling are endangered by intense dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is resulting in the tree line to move north by tens of metres each year, with underbrush encroaching on marsh and tundra. Hotter climates also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are facing extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinators is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly across European nations because of all these elements,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to reverse the decrease in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can obtain the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
As stated by Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not lower agricultural output – and might boost it – such as growers developing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
EU commissioner for environment, characterized the conservation status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is necessary to tackle this danger. Along with member states, the EU Commission has established an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinators based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will aid in following our advancement. Now, we need to focus on implementation and collaboration with member states to preserve our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the pioneering Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, a further crucial group of pollinators. Issued in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly types in Europe were at risk of extinction.
