Alarming Increase in Threatened Non-Managed Bee Species Throughout the European Continent

The number of non-managed bee types in the European continent facing dying out has over doubled over the past decade, while the total of at-risk butterfly has close to doubled.

This pressing issue for vital pollinators was unveiled by scientific assessments for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, which found that at least 172 bee types out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in the European continent.

The total of butterfly species facing extinction in European nations has risen from over thirty-five to sixty-five since the earlier research, performed over a decade past. One species, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) has now been classified as extinct.

Apart from their aesthetic appeal and cultural importance, pollinating species like bees and butterfly species are crucial elements for our physical condition, our food supplies and our economic systems – supporting the fruits, vegetables and seeds that sustain us,” stated the IUCN director general. “The latest European red list evaluations reveal serious challenges, with dangers growing for butterflies and vital native bee species.”

The causes of the quick recent decreases are the continuing harm or degradation of living environments caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, livestock overgrazing, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The breaking up of habitat friendly to pollinators substantially boosts the danger of extinctions at local level.

Global warming is also shown to be a primary risk: Over half of all endangered butterfly species in the European continent are threatened by the climate emergency – approximately twice as many as a previous decade.

Nearly ninety percent of plants that flower in the European continent depend on pollination by animals, according to the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, non-managed bee colonies are in sharp decrease and cannot readily be substituted by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees disappear, many native plants might be in danger as well – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a handful of illustrations.”

Fifteen species of bumblebees, which perform a vital function in aiding the pollination of crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, recognized for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee exclusive to the continent and the single type of this genus in the European continent, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific classification nearest to dying out in natural habitats.

Butterflies that are only found on high-altitude areas are especially at risk to climate change as they need to move uphill as their habitats become more heated but ultimately run out of space. In southern Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of types unique to Europe (only found in Europe) threatened with extinction.

In the Mediterranean, species such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are imperilled by extreme drought and wildfires.

In the meantime, in the Arctic Circle, global heating is causing the forest boundary to shift northward by dozens of meters each year, with scrub encroaching on bog and tundra. Hotter climates also mean reindeer can no more cross the ice to graze Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are facing extinction in this region, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.

“The biggest habitat for all these pollinating insects is bloom-filled grassy areas and that is disappearing very fast in the European continent because of all these elements,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The encouraging aspect is that so many people care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the EU’s nature restoration regulation, all participating nations have to turn around the decrease in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are property owners who are involved. Let’s hope they can get the encouragements that will support them on their way.”

According to the coordinator, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of action for pollinating insects which will not lower agricultural output – and could improve it – such as growers developing flower-rich margins around their farmland.

the EU’s environment commissioner, characterized the protection status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “dire”.

“Urgent and collective action is needed to tackle this risk. In collaboration with participating nations, the EU Commission has established an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration law, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to prioritize execution and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.

The publication of the bee and butterfly assessments follows the pioneering European-wide assessment of hoverflies, a further vital pollinating insect category. Published in twenty-twenty-two, it revealed that 37% of all hoverfly types in European nations were facing extinction.