The total of non-managed bee types in European nations facing dying out has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the total of threatened butterfly types has close to doubled.
This dire scenario for crucial pollinating insects was revealed by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of over 1900 were facing extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterflies facing extinction in Europe has increased from over thirty-five to over sixty since the last study, conducted 14 years ago. A single species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our health, our food systems and our economic systems – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with risks growing for butterfly species and crucial native bee species.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, wetland drainage, excessive grazing by animals, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators greatly increases the risk of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also revealed to be a primary risk: 52% of all at-risk butterfly types in Europe are imperilled by the climate emergency – approximately twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as nine out of ten of blooming plants in the European continent require animal pollination, according to Dr Denis Michez. “Unfortunately, non-managed bee populations are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by domesticated hives,” he said. “If non-managed bees die out, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee species, which have an essential part in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee types, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the mainland and the single type of this genus group in the European continent, is now classified as critically at risk – the scientific classification most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterflies that are only found on mountain peaks are especially at risk to global heating as they have to climb upward as their habitats become hotter but eventually exhaust available space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, types such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are endangered by extreme wildfires and drought.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is causing the tree line to advance northwards by many meters each year, with scrub encroaching on bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the frozen water to browse Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly across European nations because of all these reasons,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to turn around the decrease in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are engaged. Let’s hope they can get the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not lower food production – and may enhance it – such as growers establishing margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.
the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Prompt and unified steps is necessary to tackle this risk. Along with member states, the European Commission has implemented an EU-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to focus on implementation and partnership with participating nations to protect our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the first Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, another crucial pollinating insect category. Issued in 2022, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly types in European nations were facing extinction.
