The number of non-managed bee types in Europe facing extinction has over doubled over the past decade, while the number of at-risk butterfly has nearly doubled.
This critical situation for vital pollinating insects was unveiled by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least over 170 bee varieties out of over 1900 were at risk of extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterfly species threatened with extinction in Europe has risen from thirty-seven to over sixty since the last study, conducted 14 years ago. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural importance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food systems and our economies – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The latest European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with threats mounting for butterfly species and essential wild bee types.”
The factors of the swift recent drops are the persistent harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the threat of extinctions at local level.
Global heating is also demonstrated to be a primary risk: 52% of all at-risk butterflies 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 require insect pollination, as stated by Dr Denis Michez. “Regrettably, non-managed bee populations are in drastic decline and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee types, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type exclusive to the mainland and the single type of this genus in the European continent, is now assessed as severely threatened – the research category nearest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on mountain peaks are highly susceptible to global heating as they have to climb upward as their living spaces become warmer but eventually exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, species such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling butterfly are endangered by severe dry conditions and fires.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is leading to the forest boundary to move north by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush invading wetlands and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can no longer cross the ice to feed on northern grasslands and keep them open. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is declining quickly in the European continent because of all these elements,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to reverse the decline in pollinating insects by the year 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are landowners who are involved. We hope they can get the incentives that will assist them on their way.”
As stated by Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which will not lower agricultural output – and might boost it – such as agricultural producers establishing flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
Jessika Roswall, described the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to tackle this danger. Along with participating nations, the European Commission has established an European Union-wide observation system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member countries to preserve our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the pioneering EU-wide study on hoverflies, a further crucial pollinating insect category. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in European nations were facing extinction.
