The number of wild bee types in the European continent experiencing extinction has increased twofold during the previous ten-year period, while the total of threatened butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This dire scenario for crucial pollinators was revealed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterfly types at risk of extinction in the European continent has grown from thirty-seven to over sixty since the previous assessment, carried out 14 years ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food supplies and our economic systems – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal significant difficulties, with threats mounting for butterfly species and vital native bee species.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the persistent damage or destruction of living environments caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The division of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also shown to be a major threat: Over half of all threatened butterfly species in the European continent are threatened by the climate crisis – approximately twofold the amount as a ten years ago.
Up to nine out of ten of blooming plants in Europe depend on insect pollination, as per the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Sadly, native bee groups are in drastic decline and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many wild plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, known for pollinating trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee unique to the mainland and the sole species of this biological genus in European nations, is now classified as severely threatened – the research 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 living spaces become more heated but in the end have no room left. In southern Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of types unique to Europe (only found in Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling are endangered by extreme drought and wildfires.
Meanwhile, in the Far North, global heating is causing the tree line to move north by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can not anymore cross the ice to feed on Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet.
“The biggest living space for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is declining quickly throughout European nations because of all these elements,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to reverse the decrease in pollinators by 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can obtain the incentives that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of steps for pollinators which won’t reduce crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers creating flower-rich margins around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, portrayed the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to tackle this danger. Together with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an European Union-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 concentrate on implementation and cooperation with member countries to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The release of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the pioneering European-wide assessment of hoverflies, another essential group of pollinators. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in the European continent were at risk of extinction.