Worrying Increase in At-Risk Non-Managed Bee Species Throughout Europe

The count of wild bee species in the European continent facing disappearance has over doubled in the last ten years, whereas the count of threatened butterfly species has nearly doubled.

This pressing issue for essential pollinators was revealed by scientific assessments for the red list of threatened species, which found that at least 172 bee varieties out of 1,928 were threatened with extinction in the European continent.

The count of butterfly types at risk of extinction in European nations has risen from 37 to sixty-five since the last study, performed over a decade past. A single species, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.

“Beyond their visual charm and cultural value, pollinators like bees and butterflies are lifelines for our health, our food chains and our economies – supporting the fruits, veggies and seeds that feed us,” commented the IUCN’s director general. “The latest assessments of the European red list reveal significant difficulties, with threats growing for butterfly types and essential native bee varieties.”

The reasons of the swift recent drops are the continuing damage or destruction of living environments caused by intensive agriculture and land abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing by livestock, and the application of pesticides and fertilisers including neonicotinoids. The fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitat greatly increases the risk of disappearances in specific areas.

Climate change is also demonstrated to be a significant danger: 52% of all threatened butterfly species in Europe are threatened by the climate crisis – approximately twofold the amount as a ten years ago.

Nearly nine out of ten of plants that flower in the European continent require pollination by animals, as stated by the lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment. “Unfortunately, native bee populations are in drastic decline and are not easily replaceable by managed colonies,” he said. “If native bees disappear, many non-cultivated plants might be threatened too – of which flower-rich meadows and attractive orchid varieties are just a handful of illustrations.”

Fifteen types of bumblebee species, which play a crucial role in fertilizing legumes like peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and 14 species of cellophane bee species, known for fertilizing trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now classified as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee species exclusive to the continent and the single type of this genus group in the European continent, is now evaluated as severely threatened – the scientific classification nearest to dying out in natural habitats.

Butterfly types that are solely present on high-altitude areas are particularly vulnerable to global warming as they need to move uphill as their environments become more heated but eventually exhaust available space. In the southern part of Spain, the grayling of Nevada and the Andalusian anomalous blue butterfly are among above 40 percent of species endemic to Europe (exclusive to Europe) facing extinction.

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

At the same time, in the Far North, global heating is resulting in the timberline to move north by dozens of meters each year, with bushes encroaching on bog and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can not anymore cross the ice to feed on Arctic meadows and keep them open. Eight types of butterflies are threatened with extinction in this region, including Freyja’s fritillary and the ringlet of the Arctic.

“The largest living space for all these pollinating species is grassland rich in flowers and that is disappearing very fast in Europe because of all these reasons,” stated a lead coordinator for the butterfly assessment. “The good news is that so many citizens are aware now and there’s a lot more consciousness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all member countries have to turn around the decline in pollinating species by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to begin taking action. There are landowners who are engaged. Let’s hope they can receive the motivations that will assist them on their way.”

As stated by the coordinator, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of steps for pollinating insects which won’t reduce food production – and could improve it – such as agricultural producers establishing flower-rich margins around their farmland.

the EU’s environment commissioner, described the preservation condition of native bees, butterflies and additional pollinators as “critical”.

“Immediate and joint measures is necessary to address this danger. In collaboration with participating nations, the European Commission has implemented an Europe-wide monitoring system for pollinating species based on the EU nature restoration regulation, which will help to track our development. Now, we need to prioritize execution and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinating insects,” she said.

The publication of the evaluations of bees along with butterflies comes after the first Europe-wide study on hoverflies, a further vital pollinator group. Published in 2022, it showed that over one-third of all hoverfly species in the European continent were at risk of extinction.