The count of wild bee species in the European continent facing extinction has over doubled during the previous ten-year period, whereas the number of threatened butterfly types has close to doubled.
This critical situation for crucial pollinating species was disclosed by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which found that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of 1,928 were facing extinction in Europe.
The count of butterflies threatened with extinction in European nations has grown from 37 to 65 since the previous assessment, carried out 14 years ago. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinating insects like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our well-being, our food supplies and our economies – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” said the IUCN director general. “The latest European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with dangers mounting for butterfly species and vital native bee types.”
The reasons of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing damage or destruction of habitats caused by farming intensification and deserted farmland, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators substantially boosts the risk of local extinctions.
Global heating is also revealed to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterfly species in European nations are threatened by the climate emergency – approximately double the number as a previous decade.
As many as nine out of ten of flowering plants in European nations depend on insect pollination, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, native bee colonies are in sharp decrease and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many wild plants might be in danger as well – of which meadows rich in flowers and attractive orchid varieties are just a few examples.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee species, which have an essential part in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bees, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the mainland and the only species of this genus group in Europe, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific classification most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly species that are solely present on mountain tops are highly susceptible to global warming as they need to move uphill as their environments become hotter but eventually run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are imperilled by intense drought and wildfires.
In the meantime, in the Far North, global heating is causing the tree line to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with bushes invading wetlands and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can no longer cross the ice to graze northern grasslands and maintain them clear. Eight butterfly species are at risk of extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is declining quickly throughout European nations because of all these factors,” stated Martin Warren. “The positive thing is that so many citizens are concerned now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member states have to turn around the decline in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are land holders who are engaged. It is hoped they can get the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
As per Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinating species which will not lower agricultural output – and could improve it – such as growers developing margins rich in flowers around their farmland.
the EU’s environment commissioner, portrayed the conservation status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to tackle this danger. Together with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has put in place an EU-wide observation system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to concentrate on execution and cooperation with participating nations to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The release of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies follows the initial EU-wide evaluation of hoverflies, another crucial pollinating insect category. Issued in twenty-twenty-two, it revealed that over one-third of all hoverfly types in Europe were facing extinction.
