European Red List of Butterflies 2025

A fully updated European Red List of Butterflies (3.63 MB ) was published in 2025 and can also be read here.

Species accounts for all the 442 European species evaluated can be found here.

You can also download a spreadsheet showing the Red List assessment for every species and its geographic range here (0.05 MB )

You can read our Press Release (0.15 MB )

The following is a summary of the key findings.

• 442 species were assessed (note that species found in Europe but with most of their range outside Europe were excluded).
• One species is extinct: Pieris wollastoni (the Madeiran Large White), a species that was restricted to the island of Madeira (Portugal) that has not been reported since 1986.
• Of the 441 extant species, 14.7% (65 species) are considered as threatened at the European level; comprising 1.4% (6 sp.) Critically Endangered, 7.9% (35 species) Endangered, and 5.4% (24 species) Vulnerable. A further 13.6% (60 species) of species are classified as Near Threatened.
• The situation is even worse when it comes to endemic species for which Europe has a unique responsibility. Of the 148 extant endemic species: 19.6% (29 species) are threatened and 21.6% (32 species) Near Threatened. Thus over 40% of Europe's endemic butterflies are now threatened or close to being so.
• Over one quarter (28.3% = 125 species) of butterflies are now threatened or Near Threatened at the European level and almost one-third (30.9%) in the EU27.
• Since the last assessment (Van Swaay et al., 2010), the percentage of species that are now threatened has increased since the last assessment by 73% (from 8.5% to 14.7%). In pure numerical terms this equates to an increase of 76% (from 37 to 65 species). When Near Threatened species are included, the number of species listed has risen by 54.3% (from 81 to 125).

Pseudochazara williamsi Nevada Grayling (Critically Endangered) is restricted to a few mountain ranges in south-east Spain where it is threatened by both climate change and changes in grazing management. © Sam Ellis

EU situation

• Within the EU27 region there are 431 extant species, 15.8% of these (68 species) are threatened with extinction, of which 1.2% (5 species) are Critically Endangered, 9.0% (39 species) Endangered and 5.6% (24 species) Vulnerable. In addition, 15.1% (65 species) of species are considered as Near Threatened.
• Within the EU27, that proportion of endemic species threatened rises to nearly half (47.5%: 38 of 80 extant species). This compares to the last assessment when 23.2% of European endemic species were threatened or nearly so and 29.5% in the EU27.

Threats to butterflies

• The biggest threats to butterflies in Europe now and in the past are habitat loss and degradation. The primary causes of these changes are agricultural intensification, wetland drainage, land abandonment and overgrazing from livestock. As a result of these changes, many species are now suffering from the consequences of habitat fragmentation, which greatly increases the chances of local extinction.
• Over the last few decades, climate change has had a major impact on European butterflies. In this new assessment 52% (34) of all threatened species in Europe are threatened by climate change and this number is expected to grow in future.
• Climate change has resulted in the spread of many butterflies, sometimes by many hundred kilometres north. However, it is now having a severe effect on several species whose habitats are changing rapidly, either due to extended hot periods of weather or extreme events such as drought and fire. Species that live solely on mountain tops are especially threatened (e.g. Agriades zullichi, Polyommatus golgus and Polyommatus violetae in southern Spain).
• Eight montane species in Spain have also been added as Near Threatened because recent climate models predict that they will lose most of their climate space in the next 50 years (Romo et al., 2023).
• Climate change is also threatening another suite of mainly Holarctic species in the northern Alpine/Boreal zones where warmer and drier conditions are allowing scrub to spread and encroach on sensitive bog and tundra habitats. Endangered species include Agriades aquilo, Boloria freija, Boloria chariclea, Boloria polaris, Boloria improba, Erebia disa, Oeneis bore, Euphydryas iduna, B. improba.
• In the Mediterranean region, climate change is adding new threats to species because of the increasing frequency of extreme drought and wildfires. This is threatening several endemic species that are confined to islands such as the Critically Endangered Hipparchia christenseni (on Karpathos), as well as the Endangered H. tamadabae (Gran Canaria), H. tilosi (La Palma), and Gonepteryx cleobule (Canary Islands).
• Other threats that require further research include nitrogen deposition and new pesticides such as neonicotinoids, which persist in the environment.

Recommended Conservation Action

Butterfly Conservation Europe is urging action such as the inclusion of threatened species in legislation, the protection and management of Prime Butterfly Areas, and production of Species Action Plans. Further research is also needed in many areas, especially how to mitigate the impact of climate change. A full list of recommendations is given in the report and also here.

Reference

Van Swaay, C., Warren, M., Ellis, S., Clay, J., Bellotto, V., Allen, D.J. and Trottet, A. (2025). Measuring the pulse of European biodiversity using the Red List. European Red List of Butterflies. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission. doi.or/10.2779/935927