The large blue butterfly, once extinct in the UK and reintroduced in 1983, has the highest number of sites it has flown to in 2022 since records began.
Thanks to meticulous conservation management by a partnership of scientists and conservation agencies, the South West of England now supports the largest known concentration of large blues in the world.
Twelve new sites are being restored to flower-rich grassland suitable for large bluefish, either “from scratch” on arable land, failed conifer plantations and railroad construction, or by restoring custom grazing in degraded lowlands. These have supported up to a third of the UK’s large blues population, up from 7% in 2019.
appear again
The restoration of these disappearing wild grasslands also provides ideal breeding grounds for many other rare animals that share the great blue habitat.
Nikki Jeffery, Executive Director of The Prince of Wales Charities: “This project is a great example of what sensitive habitat restoration can achieve, leading to the re-emergence of new populations of the Great Blue Butterfly and other rare insect and plant species.
“PWCF is delighted that our funding has made such a significant impact in collaboration with the Royal Entomological Society and other partners.”
Among the plants, the extremely rare Pulsatilla and leaf-cut self-healing plants reappeared during the project management process.
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So there are as many as a dozen orchids; musk, fly, bee, green-winged, scented, pyramid, speckled, early purple, large butterfly, autumn lady’s braid, narrow-leaf hellebore, and white hellebore.
The numbers of other insects have increased significantly, while others are in new settlements in some of the twelve restoration sites.
These include nationally threatened species such as the stinging wasp, the UK’s second most endangered bumblebee, and Downland Villa beefly, which had not been recorded in the UK for 50 years prior to 2000.
The eight butterflies listed in the red figures – Duke of Burgundy, Little Blue, Adonis Blue, Brown Hairline, White Letter Hairline, Little Heather, Grey Captain, Dirty Captain – also became more common as Or flourish with a rich display of native insects and plants.
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These restorations represent the largest and most innovative next stage in the UK’s large-scale blue redevelopment.
In addition to the benefits of other rare species, they are also important internationally, as the big blue is listed as one of the most endangered insect species in Europe and worldwide.
Professor Emeritus of Ecology Professor Jeremy Thomas said: “The unprecedented success of this project is a testament to what can be achieved with large-scale collaboration between environmentalists, scientists and volunteers.
