The count of wild bee varieties in European nations facing disappearance has more than doubled over the past decade, and the number of endangered butterfly has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinators was disclosed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which found that at least 172 bee species out of over 1900 were facing extinction in the European continent.
The number of butterfly species facing extinction in Europe has risen from thirty-seven to 65 since the earlier research, carried out 14 years ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural importance, pollinators like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our physical condition, our food supplies and our financial structures – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The newest European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with threats growing for butterfly types and vital native bee varieties.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing harm or degradation of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The division of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Global warming is also shown to be a primary risk: Over half of all endangered butterfly species in the European continent are imperilled by the climate crisis – about twice as many as a ten years ago.
Up to nine out of ten of flowering plants in the European continent depend on animal pollination, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, wild bee populations are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, famous for fertilizing trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the European continent and the single type of this genus in European nations, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the research category most akin to disappearance in the wild.
Butterflies that are solely present on mountain tops are especially at risk to climate change as they have to climb upward as their environments become more heated but in the end have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of European endemics (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, species such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by extreme dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Arctic region, global heating is leading to the timberline to move north by dozens of meters each year, with scrub invading bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can not anymore cross the ice to graze Arctic meadows and keep them open. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest environment for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly throughout Europe because of all these reasons,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many citizens care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all participating nations have to turn around the decrease in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are land holders who are engaged. It is hoped they can get the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As per Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinators which won’t reduce food production – and may enhance it – such as growers creating bloom-filled edges around their farmland.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Prompt and unified steps is needed to confront this risk. In collaboration with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an EU-wide tracking system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to focus on implementation and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The release of the assessments on bees and butterflies follows the initial Europe-wide study on hoverflies, another vital pollinating insect category. Published in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
