The count of non-managed bee types in European nations confronting extinction has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, whereas the count of at-risk butterfly types has nearly doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinators was disclosed by scientific studies for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least 172 bee types out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in the European continent.
The number of butterflies threatened with extinction in Europe has grown from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the previous assessment, performed over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are lifelines for our physical condition, our food chains and our economies – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The latest European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with dangers mounting for butterfly types and essential wild bee species.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the persistent destruction or damage of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and abandoned land, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat substantially boosts the threat of disappearances in specific areas.
Climate change is also revealed to be a major threat: Fifty-two percent of all endangered butterfly types in Europe are endangered by the climate change crisis – roughly double the number as a ten years ago.
Nearly nine out of ten of blooming plants in the European continent depend on insect pollination, according to Dr Denis Michez. “Regrettably, wild bee groups are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees die out, many native plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, famous for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the only species of this genus in Europe, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific category most akin to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterfly species that are solely present on mountain peaks are highly susceptible to global heating as they have to climb upward as their living spaces become hotter but ultimately exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of European endemics (only found in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, varieties such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are threatened by severe wildfires and drought.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, climate change is leading to the tree line to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with scrub taking over wetlands and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can no longer cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic meadows and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are at risk of extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest living space for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast across European nations because of all these reasons,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to halt the decline in pollinators by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are land holders who are interested. It is hoped they can get the motivations that will support them on their way.”
As stated by the coordinator, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not lower agricultural output – and might boost it – such as growers establishing bloom-filled edges around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the protection status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “severe”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to tackle this threat. In collaboration with member countries, the EU Commission has put in place an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to prioritize application and partnership with participating nations to protect our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the bee and butterfly assessments is subsequent to the pioneering Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, another essential group of pollinators. Published in 2022, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly species in European nations were facing extinction.
