The total of non-managed bee varieties in European nations facing extinction has over doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the total of at-risk butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This pressing issue for vital pollinating insects was revealed by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has grown from 37 to over sixty since the earlier research, performed a decade and a half ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
“Beyond their visual charm and cultural value, pollinating insects like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our health, our food systems and our economic systems – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN director general. “The latest European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterfly species and crucial non-managed bee types.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the persistent damage or destruction of living environments caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The breaking up of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the risk of local extinctions.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: 52% of all endangered butterfly types in the European continent are imperilled by the climate emergency – roughly twofold the amount as a decade ago.
Up to nine out of ten of blooming plants in Europe depend on insect pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, wild bee groups are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees vanish, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
15 varieties of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in pollinating crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the European continent and the single type of this genus group in European nations, is now classified as severely threatened – the scientific classification nearest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly species that are solely present on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to global warming as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become more heated but eventually exhaust available space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by intense wildfires and drought.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, global warming is causing the timberline to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with scrub taking over marsh and tundra. Hotter climates also mean Arctic deer can no more cross the ice to graze Arctic meadows and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest living space for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly in European nations because of all these reasons,” remarked a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many citizens are aware now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member countries have to reverse the drop in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are property owners who are involved. It is hoped they can receive the incentives that will support them on their way.”
As per the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinating insects which won’t reduce crop yields – and may enhance it – such as agricultural producers establishing flower-rich margins around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to address this danger. Along with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has established an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our advancement. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member states to protect our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the initial European-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional essential pollinating insect category. Published in 2022, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in European nations were at risk of extinction.
