The number of wild bee varieties in European nations experiencing dying out has over doubled over the past decade, while the number of threatened butterfly has nearly doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinating insects was unveiled by scientific assessments for the IUCN red list, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee species out of nearly two thousand were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The number of butterfly species at risk of extinction in European nations has grown from over thirty-five 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 confirmed extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The latest European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterfly types and vital wild bee species.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the persistent destruction or damage of living environments caused by farming intensification and deserted farmland, draining of wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The division of environments suitable for pollinators significantly raises the threat of local extinctions.
Global heating is also demonstrated to be a major threat: Fifty-two percent of all at-risk butterfly types in European nations are imperilled by the climate change crisis – roughly twice as many as a decade ago.
Nearly 90% of flowering plants in Europe rely on pollination by animals, according to Dr Denis Michez. “Unfortunately, wild bee colonies are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees die out, many native plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and beautiful orchid species are just a couple of instances.”
15 varieties of bumblebee types, which play a crucial role in pollinating legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type unique to the mainland and the single type of this biological genus in European nations, is now assessed as critically at risk – the scientific classification nearest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly types that are solely present on mountain peaks are highly susceptible to global heating as they need to move uphill as their living spaces become more heated but in the end have no room left. In southern Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean area, species such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are endangered by extreme wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, global warming is resulting in the tree line to move north by many meters each year, with scrub taking over marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can no longer cross the ice to graze Arctic meadows and maintain them clear. Eight types of butterflies are facing extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinating species is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast throughout Europe because of all these factors,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to turn around the decline in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are land holders who are involved. It is hoped they can obtain the incentives that will help them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of measures for pollinating insects which will not lower crop yields – and could improve it – such as farmers establishing bloom-filled edges around their farmland.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to address this risk. Together with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has established an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our advancement. Now, we need to prioritize execution and collaboration with participating nations to protect our pollinating species,” she said.
The release of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the first EU-wide evaluation of hoverflies, a further crucial group of pollinators. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it disclosed that 37% of all hoverfly types in Europe were at risk of extinction.
