A colony of heath fritillary at Blean Woods National Nature Reserve near Canterbury in Kent has grown from six in 2006 to 1,300 this year.
It is found at sites in Kent, Cornwall, Devon and Essex and its caterpillars feed only on cow-wheat plants.
In Blean Woods the colony has grown by ten times in the last twelve months - from 120 in 2008 to 1300 this year.
Manager of the reserve Michael Walter said: "The sheer number of butterflies is unlike anything I've seen before for any UK butterfly species.
"At the beginning of June I did my first count in the area, and was surprised to record 68 - a good number for a peak count, let alone for the start of the season. Now we're at the peak there are well over a thousand, the fact that they are heath fritillaries makes it even more incredible.
"I have been working at Blean Woods for 27 years and have seen some amazing sights but this has got to be one of the best. Wherever I look there are just great clouds of them taking off. In the evening you can see them settle on the leaves here, they seem to cover every surface."
The large colony is one of 21 groups of heath fritillary at the reserve.
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