Concerning Increase in At-Risk Native Bee Species In Europe
The count of wild bee varieties in European nations facing extinction has more than doubled over the past decade, whereas the number of at-risk butterfly species has close to doubled.
This dire scenario for crucial pollinating insects was unveiled by scientific studies for the red list of threatened species, which determined that at least one hundred seventy-two bee varieties out of over 1900 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.
The number of butterfly species facing extinction in the European continent has increased from 37 to over sixty since the previous assessment, conducted over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.
“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are essential supports for our health, our food systems and our financial structures – maintaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” stated the IUCN’s director general. “The newest European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with dangers mounting for butterflies and vital wild bee species.”
The reasons of the swift recent drops are the persistent damage or destruction of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining of wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoids. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat substantially boosts the risk of local extinctions.
Global warming is also demonstrated to be a major threat: Over half of all threatened butterfly types in the European continent are endangered by the climate emergency – approximately double the number as a ten years ago.
Up to 90% of flowering plants in Europe depend on insect pollination, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, wild bee populations are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be in danger as well – of which bloom-filled grasslands and attractive orchid varieties are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee species, which perform a vital function in aiding the pollination of legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the mainland and the sole species of this genus in the European continent, is now classified as critically at risk – the research category nearest to disappearance in the wild.
Butterflies that are exclusively located on high-altitude areas are highly susceptible to global heating as they must ascend higher as their habitats become warmer but in the end exhaust available space. In southern Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among above 40 percent of European endemics (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean, varieties such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by intense dry conditions and fires.
In the meantime, in the Far North, climate change is leading to the forest boundary to shift northward by many meters each year, with bushes taking over bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean reindeer can not anymore cross the ice to graze Arctic meadows and prevent them from overgrowing. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet.
“The greatest habitat for all these pollinating species is flower-rich grassland and that is vanishing rapidly in the European continent because of all these elements,” stated Martin Warren. “The positive thing is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to halt the decline in pollinating species by the year 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are landowners who are engaged. It is hoped they can receive the encouragements that will assist them on their way.”
According to Martin Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of action for pollinating insects which won’t reduce crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers developing bloom-filled edges around their fields.
EU commissioner for environment, portrayed the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is needed to confront this risk. Together with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has established an European Union-wide tracking system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to focus on application and collaboration with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The issuance of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies follows the first Europe-wide evaluation of hoverflies, another essential pollinating insect category. Issued in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in Europe were facing extinction.
