The total of wild bee types in the European continent confronting extinction has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the total of threatened butterfly types has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for essential pollinating insects was revealed by scientific studies 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 European nations.
The number of butterflies threatened with extinction in European nations has grown from 37 to 65 since the last study, carried out a decade and a half ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinating species like bees and butterfly species are lifelines for our physical condition, our food systems and our economies – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The latest European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with risks growing for butterfly species and crucial native bee varieties.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the continuing damage or destruction of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and abandoned land, draining wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The division of pollinator-friendly habitat significantly raises the threat of extinctions at local level.
Global warming is also shown to be a significant danger: 52% of all at-risk butterflies in the European continent are endangered by the climate crisis – roughly double the number as a decade ago.
As many as nine out of ten of plants that flower in Europe rely on insect pollination, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Regrettably, non-managed bee populations are in drastic decline and cannot readily be substituted by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many native plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, known for aiding tree pollination such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species exclusive to the continent and the sole species of this genus group in Europe, is now assessed as critically at risk – the research category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become hotter but in the end run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of European endemics (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling are imperilled by extreme wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic Circle, climate change is resulting in the forest boundary to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with bushes encroaching on bog and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the frozen water to graze northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest habitat for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is vanishing rapidly in European nations because of all these factors,” said Martin Warren. “The good news is that so many citizens care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member states have to turn around the drop in pollinators by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are engaged. We hope they can obtain the motivations that will help them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinating insects which will not decrease food production – and might boost it – such as farmers creating flower-rich margins around their farmland.
Jessika Roswall, portrayed the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is required to confront this risk. Along with member countries, the EU Commission has implemented an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to focus on application and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the initial EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinator group. Released in 2022, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly types in Europe were threatened with extinction.
