The count of non-managed bee types in Europe confronting dying out has over doubled in the last ten years, whereas the count of threatened butterfly species has almost doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating species was unveiled by scientific studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which established that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of 1,928 were facing extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has increased from thirty-seven to over sixty since the last study, conducted a decade and a half ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food systems and our financial structures – maintaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with risks increasing for butterflies and crucial non-managed bee varieties.”
The causes of the swift recent drops are the persistent harm or degradation of habitats caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also revealed to be a major threat: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in Europe are endangered by the climate change crisis – about twice as many as a decade ago.
Nearly 90% of flowering plants in the European continent require insect pollination, according to Dr Denis Michez. “Sadly, non-managed bee groups are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types 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 bees, known for pollinating trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee unique to the continent and the single type of this genus group in Europe, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific category nearest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to global heating as they have to climb upward as their environments become hotter but ultimately have no room left. In Spain’s southern region, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among above 40 percent of types unique to Europe (only found in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, types such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are endangered by intense wildfires and drought.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, climate change is resulting in the forest boundary to advance northwards by many meters each year, with scrub invading wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest living space for all these pollinators is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly throughout the European continent because of all these reasons,” said Martin Warren. “The positive thing is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to halt the decline in pollinators by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are interested. We hope they can receive the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinators which will not decrease crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers establishing margins rich in flowers around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Urgent and collective action is required to address this risk. Along with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has established an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to focus on execution and collaboration with participating nations to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The release of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the first Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional essential group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
