Worrying Surge in Threatened Native Bee Varieties Across European Nations

The total of native bee types in European nations facing disappearance has over doubled over the past decade, and the count of threatened butterfly types has almost doubled.

This dire scenario for crucial pollinating insects was disclosed by scientific studies for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which established that at least 172 bee species out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in European nations.

The count of butterfly types facing extinction in Europe has grown from thirty-seven to over sixty since the previous assessment, performed 14 years ago. One species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.

Apart from their beauty and cultural importance, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our health, our food chains and our economies – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal major obstacles, with risks increasing for butterflies and essential non-managed bee species.”

The reasons of the swift recent drops are the ongoing harm or degradation of living environments caused by farming intensification and abandoned land, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat significantly raises the danger of local extinctions.

Global heating is also revealed to be a primary risk: Over half of all endangered butterfly species in Europe are imperilled by the climate change crisis – approximately double the number as a previous decade.

As many as nine out of ten of flowering plants in the European continent rely on animal pollination, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, wild bee colonies are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be in danger as well – of which bloom-filled grasslands and beautiful orchid species are just a handful of illustrations.”

15 varieties of bumblebees, which have an essential part in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bees, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type found only in the European continent and the single type of this genus group in Europe, is now assessed as critically at risk – the research category nearest to extinction in the wild.

Butterflies that are exclusively located on mountain tops are highly susceptible to global warming as they need to move uphill as their living spaces become warmer but in the end run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue are among above 40 percent of European endemics (solely present in Europe) at risk of extinction.

In the Mediterranean area, types such as the critically endangered Karpathos grayling are imperilled by intense dry conditions and fires.

Meanwhile, in the Far North, global heating is leading to the tree line to advance northwards by many meters each year, with underbrush taking over wetlands and tundra. Hotter climates also mean caribou can no longer cross the ice sheets to feed on northern grasslands and keep them open. 8 butterfly varieties are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet.

“The biggest environment for all these pollinators is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is declining quickly in the European continent because of all these reasons,” said a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The good news is that so many people are concerned now and there’s a lot more understanding. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all member states have to turn around the decrease in pollinators by 2030, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are land holders who are involved. It is hoped they can get the incentives that will support them on their way.”

According to the coordinator, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of measures for pollinating insects which will not lower crop yields – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers establishing flower-rich margins around their fields.

the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the protection status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “dire”.

“Prompt and unified steps is required to confront this threat. In collaboration with member states, the European Commission has put in place an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinators based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will aid in following our development. Now, we need to prioritize application and cooperation with member states to preserve our pollinating insects,” she said.

The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies comes after the pioneering European-wide evaluation of hoverflies, another crucial pollinator group. Published in 2022, it disclosed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly types in European nations were facing extinction.