Worrying Rise in Endangered Non-Managed Bee Varieties Throughout the European Continent

The count of wild bee varieties in the European continent confronting dying out has increased twofold over the past decade, while the number of endangered butterfly has almost doubled.

This critical situation for essential pollinators was disclosed by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which established that at least one hundred seventy-two bee types out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in European nations.

The number of butterfly types at risk of extinction in the European continent has grown from thirty-seven to sixty-five since the previous assessment, conducted 14 years ago. One species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.

“Beyond their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinating insects like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our well-being, our food chains and our financial structures – supporting the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” stated the IUCN director general. “The most recent European red list assessments reveal serious challenges, with dangers mounting for butterfly types and essential non-managed bee species.”

The causes of the quick recent decreases are the continuing destruction or damage of natural habitats caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, draining of wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The fragmentation of environments suitable for pollinators greatly increases the risk of extinctions at local level.

Climate change is also shown to be a primary risk: 52% of all at-risk butterfly species in the European continent are threatened by the climate emergency – about twice as many as a previous decade.

As many as nine out of ten of plants that flower in European nations rely on pollination by animals, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Regrettably, wild bee groups are in sharp decrease and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees die out, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”

Fifteen types of bumblebee species, which have an essential part in aiding the pollination of peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, recognized for aiding tree pollination such as willows along with red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species unique to the mainland and the only species of this biological genus in Europe, is now evaluated as critically endangered – the scientific category closest to disappearance in the wild.

Butterflies that are solely present on mountain tops are highly susceptible to climate change as they have to climb upward as their environments become warmer but in the end exhaust available space. In Spain’s southern region, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.

In the Mediterranean area, varieties such as the highly at-risk Karpathos grayling are threatened by intense drought and wildfires.

At the same time, in the Arctic region, global heating is causing the forest boundary to move north by dozens of meters each year, with underbrush invading bog and tundra. Hotter climates also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the frozen water to browse northern grasslands and maintain them clear. Eight types of butterflies are facing extinction in this area, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet.

“The biggest environment for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast in European nations because of all these reasons,” stated one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news 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 reverse the decline in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to start doing something. There are property owners who are interested. Let’s hope they can receive the encouragements that will support them on their way.”

As per Martin Warren, there is “readily achievable actions” in terms of steps for pollinating species which won’t reduce food production – and could improve it – such as farmers creating flower-rich margins around their cultivated areas.

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

“Immediate and joint measures is needed to confront this threat. In collaboration with participating nations, the EU Commission has implemented an Europe-wide tracking system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will aid in following our advancement. Now, we need to focus on execution and partnership with member states to protect our pollinators,” she said.

The release of the assessments on bees and butterflies is subsequent to the initial EU-wide evaluation of hoverflies, an additional crucial pollinator group. Published in 2022, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly species in European nations were facing extinction.