The total of native bee species in European nations facing extinction has increased twofold over the past decade, while the number of endangered butterfly species has close to doubled.
This critical situation for essential pollinating species was unveiled by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which established that at least 172 bee species out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in the European continent.
The count of butterfly species facing extinction in European nations has risen from 37 to over sixty since the last study, carried out 14 years ago. One species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their beauty and cultural importance, pollinating species like bees and butterflies are essential supports for our physical condition, our food chains and our financial structures – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The latest European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterfly species and essential wild bee species.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the persistent destruction or damage of habitats caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, wetland drainage, excessive grazing by animals, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators significantly raises the threat of extinctions at local level.
Climate change is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all at-risk butterfly species in Europe are imperilled by the climate emergency – about twofold the amount as a previous decade.
Nearly 90% of blooming plants in the European continent rely on animal pollination, according to the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee populations are in severe drop and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and beautiful orchid species are just a handful of illustrations.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which perform a vital function in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, famous for fertilizing trees such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the continent and the single type of this genus in Europe, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the scientific classification most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly species that are exclusively located on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to global warming as they need to move uphill as their environments become warmer but in the end have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are endangered by severe dry conditions and fires.
Meanwhile, in the Far North, global warming is causing the timberline to advance northwards by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush encroaching on marsh and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can no more cross the ice sheets to graze northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are at risk of extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinating species is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly throughout the European continent because of all these elements,” stated Martin Warren. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to reverse the decrease in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are land holders who are interested. Let’s hope they can obtain the encouragements that will support them on their way.”
As per Martin Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of measures for pollinators which will not decrease agricultural output – and may enhance it – such as growers creating bloom-filled edges around their fields.
the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to address this risk. Along with member states, the European Commission has put in place an European Union-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our advancement. Now, we need to prioritize implementation and cooperation with participating nations to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.
The issuance of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the initial Europe-wide study on hoverflies, another vital pollinating insect category. Released in 2022, it disclosed that over one-third of all hoverfly types in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
