The total of wild bee types in European nations experiencing extinction has over doubled over the past decade, whereas the number of threatened butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This dire scenario for essential pollinating species was unveiled by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least over 170 bee types out of nearly two thousand were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterflies at risk of extinction in the European continent has grown from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the previous assessment, performed a decade and a half ago. One species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural value, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our health, our food systems and our economies – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal major obstacles, with risks growing for butterflies and crucial non-managed bee species.”
The causes of the swift recent drops are the ongoing destruction or damage of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also shown to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterflies in Europe are imperilled by the climate emergency – roughly double the number as a previous decade.
As many as 90% of plants that flower in the European continent rely on insect pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, non-managed bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by domesticated hives,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee types, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee unique to the continent and the sole species of this genus in the European continent, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific category nearest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are only found on mountain tops are especially at risk to global heating as they need to move uphill as their environments become warmer but ultimately have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, species such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are endangered by intense dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Far North, global warming is causing the tree line to move north by many meters each year, with underbrush taking over wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the frozen water to graze Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are facing extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest habitat for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly across the European continent because of all these reasons,” remarked one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to reverse the drop in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are engaged. It is hoped they can get the incentives that will help them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinating insects which will not lower food production – and might boost it – such as agricultural producers establishing flower-rich margins around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.
“Prompt and unified steps is necessary to tackle this risk. Along with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to focus on execution and partnership with member states to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the initial Europe-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional vital pollinating insect category. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly varieties in Europe were facing extinction.
