Declines of this pretty orange chequered butterfly can be mainly attributed to the loss of flowery meadows abundant in Devils-bit Scabious - the caterpillars' food plant. Butterfly Conservation and the Countryside Council for Wales have been running the Mynydd Mawr project, to protect and enhance Marsh Fritillary habitat in Carmarthenshire, for the past six years. Despite 78 hectares of land, mainly belonging to private landowners, being brought in to sympathetic management, numbers of the butterfly had remained low because of poor weather.
Good year for Fritillary butterflies
This Spring's dry sunny weather, enjoyed by many across Carmarthenshire, also brought out the butterflies in force. New records show that, along with many other Fritillary butterflies, the Marsh Fritillary had a really good year in Wales. In addition to high counts of adults, the butterfly was also seen flying at new sites.
After sightings of the butterfly, Scientists hope that this September's caterpillar searches will reveal them breeding on the land recently restored by the project.
Russel Hobson, Head of Butterfly Conservation Wales said "It was heart warming to see the butterfly searching across fields that were previously unsuitable. And it is equally exciting to think we may find the caterpillars on new sites this year. This butterfly is an excellent indicator of the health of these marshy grasslands. These sites are still threatened by development in the Cross Hands area and elsewhere in South Wales.
The Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) District team leader Huw Williams said "The work we do in partnership with the Butterfly Conservation will ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to see these beautiful creatures across a wide area Carmarthenshire and south Wales coalfields."
Counts for the caterpillars' distinctive ‘webs' will take place at important sites in Wales from late August. The surveys are part of a Wales wide monitoring programme to assess the health of the Marsh Fritillary in Wales.
The Marsh Fritillary butterfly is protected across Europe. In Wales the butterfly has declined by 32% between 1970-82 and 1995-2004. Much of the decline is through loss of habitat to development and unsympathetic management (e.g. regular cutting or neglect).
The caterpillars' only feed on Devil's-bit Scabious, a plant associated with the flowery marshy grasslands distinctive of the South Wales Coal Measures.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wales-fritillary.html
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