Alarming Increase in Threatened Non-Managed Bee Varieties In Europe

The number of wild bee types in the European continent confronting dying out has over doubled during the previous ten-year period, and the total of threatened butterfly types has nearly doubled.

This critical situation for vital pollinating insects was revealed by research studies for the red list of threatened species, which established that at least one hundred seventy-two bee species out of nearly two thousand were at risk of extinction in European nations.

The number of butterflies facing extinction in European nations has increased from 37 to over sixty since the previous assessment, performed 14 years ago. One species, the large white of Madeira (Pieris wollastoni) has now been declared extinct.

Apart from their visual charm and cultural significance, pollinating species like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our well-being, our food chains and our economic systems – sustaining the produce, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” said Grethel Aguilar. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal serious challenges, with risks growing for butterfly species and essential native bee varieties.”

The reasons of the quick recent decreases are the ongoing damage or destruction of habitats caused by farming intensification and land abandonment, draining wetlands, overgrazing by livestock, and the utilization of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid chemicals. The breaking up of pollinator-friendly habitat greatly increases the threat of extinctions at local level.

Global warming is also revealed to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterfly types in Europe are endangered by the climate emergency – approximately double the number as a decade ago.

As many as ninety percent of blooming plants in European nations require animal pollination, as stated by the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, native bee colonies are in drastic decline and cannot be easily replaced by managed bee colonies,” he said. “If non-managed bees die out, many native plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and lovely orchid types are just a couple of instances.”

Fifteen species of bumblebee types, which have an essential part in fertilizing crops such as peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 types of cellophane bee types, famous for pollinating trees such as willows along with red maples, are now categorized as at-risk. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee found only in the mainland and the only species of this genus group in European nations, is now assessed as critically endangered – the scientific classification most akin to disappearance in the wild.

Butterfly species that are exclusively located on mountain peaks are particularly vulnerable to global warming as they need to move uphill as their habitats become warmer but in the end have no room left. In the southern part of Spain, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among more than 40% of species endemic to Europe (only found in Europe) facing extinction.

In the Mediterranean, varieties such as the highly at-risk grayling of Karpathos are endangered by severe dry conditions and fires.

In the meantime, in the Far North, global heating is resulting in the timberline to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with bushes taking over bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the frozen water to feed on northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight butterfly species are facing extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.

“The biggest living space for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast across European nations because of all these reasons,” remarked Martin Warren. “The good news is that so many individuals care now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member countries have to halt the drop in pollinating insects by 2030, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are land holders who are engaged. We hope they can receive the encouragements that will help them on their way.”

As per Martin Warren, there is “easy opportunities” in terms of steps for pollinators which will not lower food production – and might boost it – such as agricultural producers establishing bloom-filled edges around their cultivated areas.

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

“Urgent and collective action is required to address this risk. Together with member countries, the Commission of the European Union has established an EU-wide monitoring system for pollinating insects based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our progress. Now, we need to concentrate on implementation and collaboration with member states to protect our pollinating species,” she said.

The release of the bee and butterfly assessments is subsequent to the initial European-wide study on hoverflies, an additional essential pollinator group. Published in 2022, it showed that 37% of all hoverfly types in European nations were at risk of extinction.