Worrying Increase in Threatened Non-Managed Bee Types In the European Continent
The count of non-managed bee types in Europe facing dying out has more than doubled over the past decade, whereas the number of threatened butterfly species has close to doubled.
This pressing issue for crucial pollinators was unveiled by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which established that at least 172 bee types out of 1,928 were facing extinction in the European continent.
The total of butterflies at risk of extinction in European nations has grown from 37 to 65 since the earlier research, carried out a decade and a half ago. A single species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
Apart from their visual charm and cultural significance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food systems and our economies – sustaining the fruits, veggies and seeds that sustain us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with risks increasing for butterfly species and vital non-managed bee varieties.”
The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing destruction or damage of habitats caused by agricultural intensification and deserted farmland, draining wetlands, excessive grazing by animals, and the utilization of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The fragmentation of habitat friendly to pollinators significantly raises the danger of disappearances in specific areas.
Global heating is also shown to be a major threat: 52% of all at-risk butterfly species in the European continent are endangered by the climate emergency – approximately twice as many as a decade ago.
As many as ninety percent of flowering plants in Europe require insect pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, wild bee colonies are in drastic decline and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be at risk too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee types, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee unique to the mainland and the sole species of this genus group in the European continent, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific classification nearest to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are exclusively located on mountain tops are highly susceptible to global heating as they must ascend higher as their habitats become warmer but eventually exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of types unique to Europe (exclusive to Europe) facing extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by intense wildfires and drought.
In the meantime, in the Far North, global heating is leading to the forest boundary to move north by tens of metres each year, with underbrush encroaching on marsh and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice sheets to graze Arctic grasslands and maintain them clear. 8 butterfly varieties are facing extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet.
“The greatest environment for all these pollinators is grassland rich in flowers and that is vanishing rapidly in Europe because of all these factors,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member states have to reverse the drop in pollinators by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are involved. Let’s hope they can get the encouragements that will support them on their way.”
As stated by Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of action for pollinators which will not lower food production – and may enhance it – such as agricultural producers establishing bloom-filled edges around their fields.
Jessika Roswall, portrayed the preservation condition of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to confront this danger. Together with member countries, the EU Commission has established an EU-wide observation system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to focus on implementation and partnership with member countries to preserve our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies follows the first European-wide study on hoverflies, a further crucial group of pollinators. Published in 2022, it disclosed that over one-third of all hoverfly types in the European continent were at risk of extinction.
