The count of wild bee types in European nations confronting dying out has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the count of at-risk butterfly types has almost doubled.
This dire scenario for essential pollinating insects was revealed by scientific studies for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least 172 bee species out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in Europe.
The number of butterflies threatened with extinction in European nations has increased from 37 to over sixty since the previous assessment, carried out a decade and a half ago. A single species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are crucial elements for our well-being, our food supplies and our economies – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” commented Grethel Aguilar. “The newest European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with threats growing for butterflies and crucial native bee varieties.”
The causes of the swift recent drops are the continuing harm or degradation of natural habitats caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, draining of wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the risk of extinctions at local level.
Climate change is also revealed to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterflies in the European continent are imperilled by the climate crisis – approximately twice as many as a decade ago.
As many as nine out of ten of plants that flower in the European continent depend on pollination by animals, as per Dr Denis Michez. “Sadly, native bee colonies are in severe drop and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be at risk too – of which meadows rich in flowers and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”
15 varieties of bumblebee species, which perform a vital function in pollinating crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bee species, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the continent and the only species of this genus group in the European continent, is now assessed as critically at risk – the scientific category closest to dying out in natural habitats.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to global heating as they have to climb upward as their environments become warmer but in the end run out of space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among over forty percent of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean region, species such as the critically endangered grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by severe drought and wildfires.
Meanwhile, in the Arctic region, climate change is leading to the tree line to shift northward by tens of metres each year, with underbrush encroaching on bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can not anymore cross the frozen water to graze Arctic grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the ringlet of the Arctic.
“The largest habitat for all these pollinating insects is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly across Europe because of all these reasons,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many citizens care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member countries have to reverse the decline in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are involved. Let’s hope they can get the incentives that will help them on their way.”
As stated by Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of action for pollinators which won’t reduce agricultural output – and could improve it – such as growers developing flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.
Jessika Roswall, characterized the preservation condition of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “severe”.
“Prompt and unified steps is needed to confront this threat. In collaboration with member countries, the European Commission has implemented an Europe-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will assist in monitoring our development. Now, we need to focus on application and partnership with member countries to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.
The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the initial EU-wide assessment of hoverflies, another crucial group of pollinators. Issued in 2022, it showed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in European nations were threatened with extinction.
