The new European Red List of butterflies is turning increasingly red
The new European Red List of butterflies includes no fewer than 65 endangered species, around 15% of all species. This is an increase of 28 species compared to the previous version in 2010. One species, the Madeiran large white, has not been sighted since 1986 and is now officially considered extinct.
The greatest threats to butterflies in Europe are and remain loss of suitable habitats and climate change. Habitats are being lost due to a combination of factors, including changes in land use, drainage of wetlands, overgrazing, and both intensification and abandonment of agricultural land. A second serious threat that has severely affected European butterflies over the past decade is global warming. The new Red List shows that 34 species in Europe are affected by this. This number is expected to increase in the coming years. Climate change affects not only species found in the far north, but also species from the Mediterranean region and mountain species.
Unlike previous versions, this time several butterfly species from Flanders are also included in the new European Red List. The Essex and the small skipper are listed as vulnerable in the new European Red List (also vulnerable in Flanders). Five other Flemish species are listed as near threatened on the European Red List: the Algon blue (critically endangered in Flanders), the grizzled skipper and the small tortoiseshell (threatened in Flanders) and the chequered skipper and the small blue (vulnerable in Flanders). This underlines that these European (near) threatened species deserve special attention in Flemish nature policy and in the management of their habitats.
image above: the Piedmont anomalous blue, a critically endangered butterfly in Europe (photo: Dirk Maes)