The number of native bee species in European nations facing dying out has over doubled in the last ten years, and the total of threatened butterfly types has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for crucial pollinators was revealed by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which found that at least 172 bee varieties out of 1,928 were facing extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly types facing extinction in the European continent has increased from 37 to sixty-five since the last study, performed over a decade past. A single species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food chains and our financial structures – maintaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal significant difficulties, with risks increasing for butterfly species and vital native bee species.”
The factors of the quick recent decreases are the continuing damage or destruction of habitats caused by farming intensification and deserted farmland, draining of wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators greatly increases the risk of local extinctions.
Global warming is also revealed to be a major threat: Over half of all threatened butterfly species in the European continent are imperilled by the climate crisis – approximately twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
As many as 90% of plants that flower in the European continent rely on insect pollination, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which have an essential part in pollinating crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, famous for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee found only in the mainland and the single type of this genus group in Europe, is now classified as severely threatened – the scientific category most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly species that are only found on mountain tops are especially at risk to global warming as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become more heated but ultimately exhaust available space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are threatened by extreme wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is resulting in the forest boundary to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with bushes taking over wetlands and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can no longer cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest living space for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly throughout European nations because of all these elements,” remarked Martin Warren. “The positive thing is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member states have to halt the decline in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are landowners who are involved. It is hoped they can get the encouragements that will support them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinators which won’t reduce agricultural output – and might boost it – such as growers creating margins rich in flowers around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, characterized the preservation condition of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to confront this risk. Along with member countries, 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 progress. Now, we need to prioritize application and cooperation with participating nations to safeguard our pollinating species,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies is subsequent to the pioneering European-wide study on hoverflies, another vital group of pollinators. Released in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in Europe were at risk of extinction.
