The number of wild bee varieties in European nations facing dying out has increased twofold in the last ten years, and the number of threatened butterfly types has close to doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinators was revealed by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least over 170 bee varieties out of over 1900 were facing extinction in Europe.
The count of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has risen from 37 to sixty-five since the last study, carried out 14 years ago. One species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our health, our food supplies and our economic systems – maintaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” said the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats increasing for butterfly types and vital native bee varieties.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the continuing destruction or damage of living environments caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: 52% of all endangered butterfly types in the European continent are endangered by the climate emergency – roughly twofold the amount as a decade ago.
Nearly ninety percent of blooming plants in Europe require insect pollination, as per Dr Denis Michez. “Unfortunately, non-managed bee populations are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebees, which perform a vital function in aiding the pollination of peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the European continent and the sole species of this genus group in Europe, is now assessed as critically at risk – the research category nearest to extinction in the wild.
Butterflies that are only found on mountain tops are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become more heated but eventually run out of space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are endangered by intense drought and wildfires.
At the same time, in the Arctic region, climate change is leading to the tree line to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush taking over wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can no more cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly across Europe because of all these factors,” 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 awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all participating nations have to reverse the drop in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are involved. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As per the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of steps for pollinating species which won’t reduce agricultural output – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers developing bloom-filled edges around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Urgent and collective action is required to tackle this danger. Along with participating nations, the EU Commission has put in place an Europe-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to prioritize execution and partnership with participating nations to safeguard our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies follows the first Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional essential group of pollinators. Released in twenty-twenty-two, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in European nations were at risk of extinction.
