The total of native bee types in Europe confronting disappearance has increased twofold over the past decade, and the count of threatened butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinators was revealed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which established that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly types at risk of extinction in the European continent has increased from 37 to over sixty since the previous assessment, conducted over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural importance, pollinating species like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The latest European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with risks growing for butterflies and vital native bee species.”
The reasons of the swift recent drops are the continuing harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and deserted farmland, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoids. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the danger of local extinctions.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a significant danger: Over half of all threatened butterfly types in Europe are threatened by the climate emergency – approximately twice as many as a ten years ago.
As many as nine out of ten of flowering plants in the European continent require animal pollination, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, wild bee colonies are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the mainland and the single type of this biological genus in European nations, is now classified as critically endangered – the research category nearest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on mountain peaks are highly susceptible to global warming as they have to climb upward as their environments become warmer but in the end exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are threatened by intense dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Far North, global heating is resulting in the forest boundary to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with scrub taking over wetlands and tundra. Hotter climates also mean caribou can no longer cross the frozen water to feed on Arctic meadows and maintain them clear. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet.
“The biggest environment for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly across Europe because of all these factors,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many citizens care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to turn around the decline in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can obtain the encouragements that will help them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of measures for pollinating species which will not lower crop yields – and may enhance it – such as growers developing margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is required to confront this threat. Along with member countries, the EU Commission has put in place an EU-wide observation system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration law, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to focus on application and cooperation with participating nations to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the first European-wide study on hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinating insect category. Released in 2022, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in European nations were facing extinction.
