Concerning Increase in Endangered Wild Bee Varieties In Europe

The number of native bee types in European nations experiencing disappearance has over doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the count of threatened butterfly species has close to doubled.

This dire scenario for crucial pollinating insects was revealed by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee species out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in the European continent.

The total of butterflies at risk of extinction in European nations has grown from over thirty-five to 65 since the last study, conducted a decade and a half ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.

Apart from their beauty and cultural importance, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our well-being, our food systems and our financial structures – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” stated the IUCN’s director general. “The newest European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with dangers mounting for butterflies and vital native bee species.”

The causes of the quick recent decreases are the persistent damage or destruction of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the utilization of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators greatly increases the danger of extinctions at local level.

Global warming is also shown to be a primary risk: Fifty-two percent of all at-risk butterfly species in European nations are endangered by the climate crisis – approximately twofold the amount as a previous decade.

Up to nine out of ten of plants that flower in the European continent require animal pollination, as per Dr Denis Michez. “Unfortunately, wild bee colonies are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by domesticated hives,” he said. “If wild bees vanish, many native plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”

Fifteen types of bumblebees, which have an essential part in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee types, famous for aiding tree pollination such as willows along with red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species exclusive to the European continent and the sole species of this biological genus in Europe, is now classified as critically endangered – the scientific classification most akin to extinction in the wild.

Butterfly species that are only found on high-altitude areas are highly susceptible to climate change as they need to move uphill as their habitats become hotter but ultimately run out of space. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of European endemics (solely present in Europe) threatened with extinction.

In the Mediterranean area, types such as the severely threatened Karpathos grayling butterfly are imperilled by intense dry conditions and fires.

Meanwhile, in the Far North, global warming is resulting in the forest boundary to shift northward by many meters each year, with bushes taking over marsh and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean reindeer can no longer cross the frozen water to graze Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.

“The largest environment for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly in Europe because of all these factors,” said one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The positive thing is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all member countries have to reverse the decline in pollinators by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements that will help them on their way.”

As stated by Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of action for pollinating species which won’t reduce crop yields – and may enhance it – such as farmers establishing flower-rich margins around their farmland.

EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “severe”.

“Prompt and unified steps is required to confront this danger. Together with member states, the Commission of the European Union has established an Europe-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will assist in monitoring our development. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member states to preserve our pollinators,” she said.

The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the pioneering Europe-wide assessment of hoverflies, an additional essential pollinator group. Issued in 2022, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.