Worrying Surge in Endangered Native Bee Types In European Nations

The count of wild bee types in the European continent facing dying out has more than doubled during the previous ten-year period, while the count of endangered butterfly types has close to doubled.

This dire scenario for essential pollinators was unveiled by scientific studies for the red list of threatened species, which established that at least one hundred seventy-two bee species out of over 1900 were at risk of extinction in Europe.

The total of butterflies facing extinction in European nations has risen from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the last study, performed 14 years ago. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.

Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural value, pollinating insects like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food chains and our economies – supporting the produce, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” commented the IUCN director general. “The latest European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with dangers mounting for butterflies and essential wild bee types.”

The factors of the swift recent drops are the continuing damage or destruction of natural habitats caused by agricultural intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat significantly raises the danger of local extinctions.

Global heating is also revealed to be a primary risk: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in European nations are endangered by the climate change crisis – about twofold the amount as a decade ago.

As many as 90% of flowering plants in European nations require insect pollination, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Sadly, wild bee groups are in severe drop and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If native bees die out, many wild plants might be threatened too – of which bloom-filled grasslands and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”

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 bee species, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willows and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type exclusive to the continent and the single type of this genus group in European nations, is now assessed as severely threatened – the scientific category closest to disappearance in the wild.

Butterfly species that are only found on high-altitude areas are particularly vulnerable to global heating as they must ascend higher as their environments become warmer but eventually 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 (exclusive to Europe) at risk of extinction.

In the Mediterranean region, types such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are endangered by severe wildfires and drought.

At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, climate change is causing the forest boundary to move north by tens of metres each year, with bushes encroaching on bog and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean caribou can no longer cross the ice to feed on northern grasslands and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this zone, including Freyja’s fritillary and the Arctic ringlet.

“The greatest living space for all these pollinators is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is vanishing rapidly throughout European nations because of all these reasons,” remarked one of the lead coordinators of the butterflies assessment. “The good news is that so many individuals are concerned now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the EU nature restoration legislation, all participating nations have to turn around the decrease in pollinating species by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are landowners who are interested. Let’s hope they can obtain the motivations that will support them on their way.”

According to Martin Warren, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinating species which will not decrease food production – and might boost it – such as farmers creating bloom-filled edges around their farmland.

Jessika Roswall, described the protection status of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “critical”.

“Immediate and joint measures is required to address this risk. Along with participating nations, the Commission of the European Union has implemented an EU-wide tracking system for pollinators based on the EU nature restoration law, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to prioritize implementation and partnership with participating nations to preserve our pollinators,” she said.

The publication of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies is subsequent to the first EU-wide study on hoverflies, an additional vital pollinating insect category. Released in twenty-twenty-two, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.