The number of native bee varieties in European nations confronting disappearance has more than doubled in the last ten years, while the number of at-risk butterfly types has close to doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinators was disclosed by research studies for the IUCN red list, which found that at least over 170 bee varieties out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterflies threatened with extinction in the European continent has risen from over thirty-five to over sixty since the previous assessment, conducted over a decade past. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural significance, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our physical condition, our food supplies and our economic systems – maintaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The newest European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with risks mounting for butterfly species and essential wild bee species.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the continuing damage or destruction of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and deserted farmland, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the risk of extinctions at local level.
Global warming is also revealed to be a significant danger: 52% of all endangered butterfly types in European nations are threatened by the climate change crisis – about twofold the amount as a previous decade.
Nearly 90% of flowering plants in European nations rely on animal pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebee species, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows along with red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species found only in the continent and the only species of this genus in the European continent, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to climate change as they have to climb upward as their habitats become hotter but in the end have no room left. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are endangered by intense dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Far North, global heating is resulting in the tree line to advance northwards by many meters each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can no more cross the ice to browse northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are facing extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinating species is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly throughout the European continent because of all these factors,” remarked Martin Warren. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member countries have to reverse the decrease in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are land holders who are involved. It is hoped they can get the encouragements that will support them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not decrease food production – and might boost it – such as agricultural producers developing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
EU commissioner for environment, characterized the preservation condition of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “dire”.
“Immediate and joint measures is required to confront this risk. Together with member states, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an EU-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to prioritize execution and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the pioneering Europe-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional vital group of pollinators. Issued in 2022, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in European nations were threatened with extinction.
