The number of non-managed bee varieties in Europe experiencing disappearance has over doubled over the past decade, whereas the number of threatened butterfly has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for vital pollinating insects was revealed by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in Europe.
The number of butterfly types threatened with extinction in European nations has risen from thirty-seven to 65 since the previous assessment, carried out over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food chains and our economies – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The newest European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with risks growing for butterfly types and vital non-managed bee varieties.”
The causes of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing destruction or damage of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, draining of wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also revealed to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterfly species in Europe are endangered by the climate change crisis – about twofold the amount as a decade ago.
Nearly ninety percent of flowering plants in Europe require pollination by animals, as per Dr Denis Michez. “Regrettably, non-managed bee populations are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees disappear, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen types of bumblebees, which play a crucial role in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee types, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the European continent and the single type of this genus group in Europe, is now classified as critically endangered – the scientific category closest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to global warming as they need to move uphill as their environments become hotter but ultimately run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among over forty percent of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, types such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling butterfly are endangered by extreme wildfires and drought.
At the same time, in the Far North, global warming is leading to the tree line to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with scrub invading wetlands and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the ice sheets to feed on Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest living space for all these pollinators is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly throughout the European continent because of all these elements,” remarked Martin Warren. “The positive thing is that so many citizens are aware now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to reverse the drop in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements that will support them on their way.”
As stated by Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating species which will not decrease food production – and may enhance it – such as growers developing margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the preservation condition of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to address this risk. Along with member states, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our progress. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member countries to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments is subsequent to the pioneering Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, another crucial pollinating insect category. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
