The number of wild bee species in European nations experiencing disappearance has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the number of threatened butterfly has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinators was unveiled by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which found that at least 172 bee species out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterflies at risk of extinction in Europe has risen from over thirty-five to over sixty since the earlier research, carried out 14 years ago. One type, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural significance, pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our health, our food chains and our economies – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The newest assessments of the European red list reveal major obstacles, with risks mounting for butterflies and essential native bee types.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the persistent harm or degradation of habitats caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, draining of wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the threat of local extinctions.
Climate change is also shown to be a significant danger: Fifty-two percent of all threatened butterfly types in Europe are imperilled by the climate crisis – roughly twice as many as a ten years ago.
Nearly ninety percent of blooming plants in the European continent rely on pollination by animals, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, non-managed bee populations are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many native plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee species, which perform a vital function in pollinating crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, known for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the mainland and the only species of this biological genus in Europe, is now evaluated as critically at risk – the scientific category most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly types that are only found on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global warming as they have to climb upward as their environments become more heated but eventually exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are threatened by severe wildfires and drought.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, global heating is leading to the tree line to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with scrub taking over marsh and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can no longer cross the ice to browse northern grasslands and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are at risk of extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast in the European continent because of all these reasons,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to halt the decline in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are engaged. It is hoped they can receive the incentives that will support them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of measures for pollinators which will not lower crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers developing margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Prompt and unified steps is necessary to confront this risk. Along with member countries, the European Commission has implemented an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to focus on implementation and cooperation with member countries to protect our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies follows the initial European-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional crucial group of pollinators. Issued in twenty-twenty-two, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in European nations were threatened with extinction.
