Worrying Surge in Threatened Wild Bee Types In the European Continent

The count of wild bee species in European nations confronting dying out has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the count of threatened butterfly species has almost doubled.

This pressing issue for crucial pollinators was disclosed by research studies for the IUCN red list, which determined that at least 172 bee types out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in Europe.

The number of butterflies threatened with extinction in Europe has grown from over thirty-five 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.

In addition to their aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, pollinators like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our health, our food chains and our financial structures – maintaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The newest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with threats growing for butterfly species and essential native bee species.”

The factors of the rapid recent declines are the ongoing harm or degradation of living environments caused by agricultural intensification and abandoned land, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the utilization of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The division of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the danger of extinctions at local level.

Global heating is also revealed to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all at-risk butterflies in Europe are threatened by the climate emergency – approximately twice as many as a previous decade.

As many as ninety percent of plants that flower in Europe depend on pollination by animals, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, wild bee populations are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a couple of instances.”

Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee types, famous for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee found only in the mainland and the sole species of this genus group in European nations, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific classification closest to disappearance in the wild.

Butterfly types that are only found on mountain peaks are especially at risk to climate change as they have to climb upward as their environments become warmer but eventually run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of types unique to Europe (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.

In the Mediterranean area, species such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are endangered by severe wildfires and drought.

In the meantime, in the Arctic Circle, climate change is resulting in the tree line to move north by many meters each year, with bushes invading bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean caribou can no more cross the ice sheets to graze northern grasslands and keep them open. 8 butterfly varieties are at risk of extinction in this area, including Freyja’s fritillary butterfly and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.

“The greatest living space for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is declining quickly throughout Europe because of all these factors,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to halt the decline in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are property owners who are involved. Let’s hope they can obtain the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”

According to Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of measures for pollinators which will not decrease agricultural output – and might boost it – such as growers creating margins rich in flowers around their cultivated areas.

EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.

“Urgent and collective action is necessary to address this risk. Together with participating nations, the European Commission has established an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will aid in following our advancement. Now, we need to focus on application and cooperation with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.

The issuance of the bee and butterfly assessments comes after the pioneering European-wide evaluation of hoverflies, another crucial pollinating insect category. Published in 2022, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.