Number of wild bee species in Europe The number of endangered butterfly species has more than doubled in the past decade, and the number of endangered butterfly species has nearly doubled.
The danger facing critical pollinators has been revealed in scientific research International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.who found that at least 172 bee species out of 1,928 are threatened with extinction in Europe.
The number of critically endangered butterflies in Europe has increased from 37 to 65 since the last survey 14 years ago. One type, i.e. Great White Madeira (Pieris Wollaston) is now declared extinct.
“Beyond their beauty and cultural importance, pollinators such as bees and butterflies are lifelines to our health, our food systems and our economies, ensuring the maintenance of the fruits, vegetables and seeds that nourish us,” said Gretel Aguilar, IUCN Director-General. “The latest European Red List assessments highlight significant challenges to the growing threat to butterflies and critical wild bee species.”
Reasons for the recent rapid decline include ongoing habitat destruction or damage caused by agricultural intensification and abandonment, wetland drainage, overgrazing, and the use of fertilizers and pesticides, including neonicotinoids. Fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitats significantly increases the risk of local extinction.
Global warming also poses a major threat: 52% of all endangered butterflies in Europe are threatened by the climate crisis – about twice as many as a decade ago.
According to Dr Denis Michet, lead coordinator of the wild bee assessment, up to 90% of flowering plants in Europe depend on animal pollination. “Unfortunately, wild bee populations are in steep decline and cannot be easily replaced by managed colonies,” he said. “If wild bees disappear, many wild plants could also be threatened, and flowering meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a few examples.”
Fifteen species of bumblebees, which play a critical role in pollinating peas, beans, peanuts and clover, as well as 14 species of cellophane bees, known for pollinating trees such as willows and red maples, are now classified as endangered. Chimpangus phyllopodusThe mountain bee, unique to the continent and the only species of its genus in Europe, is currently assessed as critically endangered, the scientific category closest to extinction in the wild.
Butterflies, which are found only on mountaintops, are especially vulnerable to global warming because they have to move uphill as their habitat gets warmer, but end up running out of space. In the south of Spain, Nevada grayling And Andalusian anomalous blue are among more than 40% of European endemics (found only in Europe) that are threatened with extinction.
In the Mediterranean, species such as endangered Carpathian grayling are at risk due to extreme drought and forest fires.
Meanwhile, above the Arctic Circle, global warming is causing the tree line to shift northward by tens of meters each year, and shrubs are encroaching into swamps and tundra. Warmer conditions also mean that reindeer will no longer be able to cross the ice to graze Arctic grasslands and keep them open. Eight butterfly species are threatened with extinction in the region, including Freya's fritillary and Arctic ringlet.
“The biggest habitat for all these pollinators is flower-rich grasslands, and they are disappearing very quickly across Europe because of all these factors,” said Martin Warren, one of the lead coordinators of the butterfly assessment. “The positive thing is that so many people care about it now and the level of awareness is much higher. Under EU legislation on nature restorationall member states must reverse pollinator declines by 2030 and they will have to start doing something. There are interested landowners. Let's hope they get incentives to help them on their way.”
In terms of action for pollinators, Warren says there are “low-hanging fruits” that won't reduce food production – but could increase it – such as farmers creating flower-rich fields around their fields.
Jessica Rosewall, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Water Sustainability and a Competitive Circular Economy, described the conservation status of wild bees, butterflies and other pollinators as “appalling”.
“Urgent and collective action is needed to combat this threat. Together with member states, the European Commission has created a pan-European pollinator monitoring system based on the EU Nature Recovery Regulation, which will help track our progress. We now need to focus on implementation and collaboration with member countries to protect our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of estimates of bees and butterflies occurred after the first pan-European assessment of hoverfliesanother important group of pollinators. A report published in 2022 found that 37% of all hoverfly species in Europe are at risk of extinction.
