Dry weather boosts UK's most endangered butterfly

High brown fritillary population rises due to harsh winter and sunny spring

Steven Morris

Mon 2 Jul 2018 00.01 BST

The combination of a harsh winter and sunny May and June has given the population of the UK’s most endangered butterfly, the high brown fritillary, a welcome boost.

Volunteers have been counting rare butterflies in a wooded valley on the Devon coast, which has been the focus of a project to encourage species such as the high brown fritillary.

Matthew Oates, a National Trust volunteer and one of the UK’s leading butterfly experts, said: “The butterfly seems to be having a very good year, with over 200 seen during the count.

“Ideal weather conditions; a cold and harsh winter, which has helped knock back the bracken and then a warm and sunny May and June have been ideal for caterpillar development.

“As we are having some fairly dry weather, it’s now the perfect time for seeing this large and powerful butterfly.”

Conservationists believe changes to woodland management, such as the abandonment of coppicing, have contributed to the steep decline of the large, fast-flying butterfly over the past 50 years.

The National Trust has been given £100,000 by the People’s Postcode Lottery to improve 60 hectares (150 acres) of lowland heath and wood pasture at Heddon Valley in north Devon as a habitat for the butterfly.

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National Trust to create UK sanctuary for endangered butterfly

Heddon Valley in Devon to be haven for high brown fritillary, supported by lottery funding

Steven Morris

Wed 24 Jan 2018 00.01 GMT

A beautiful wooded valley on the Devon coast is to be the focus of a project to save the UK’s most endangered butterfly – the high brown fritillary.

Conservationists believe changes to woodland management, such as the abandonment of coppicing, and climate change have contributed to the steep decline of the large, powerful, fast-flying butterfly over the last 50 years.

The National Trust has been given £100,000 by the People’s Postcode Lottery to improve 150 acres of lowland heath and wood pasture at Heddon Valley on the north Devon coast as a habitat for the butterfly.

Other butterflies including the heath fritillary, and birds such as the nightjar and the Dartford warbler will also benefit.

Matthew Oates, a National Trust nature expert and butterfly enthusiast, said: “We’ve witnessed a catastrophic decline of many native butterfly populations in recent decades but initiatives like this can really help to turn the tide.”

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UK's most endangered butterfly back from the brink

The critically endangered high brown fritillary had its best summer in a decade in 2014, with numbers rising 180% in a year thanks to conservation efforts

Patrick Barkham

@patrick_barkham

Thursday 2 April 2015 06.01 BST

Last modified on Thursday 2 April 201509.28 BST

The most endangered butterfly in Britain enjoyed its best summer for a decade last year after highly focused conservation efforts on its 30 remaining sites.

Numbers of the critically endangered high brown fritillary increased by 180% last year compared with 2013 according to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS), with warm spring weather also helping its caterpillars survive.

Its recovery, which builds on an increase in numbers in 2013, raises hopes that this large, dynamic butterfly is no longer heading towards extinction.

As recently as 50 years ago, the high brown fritillary was a common sight in large woods across England and Wales. In recent decades, lepidopterists have puzzled over its dramatic disappearance, fearing it would become the first butterfly species to fall extinct in Britain since the large blue was lost in 1979.

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Rare high brown fritillary butterfly helped by cattle

Cattle at a Lake District hill farm are helping to make a habitat for a critically-endangered butterfly.

A herd of Luing cattle is being used to create a haven for the high brown fritillaries as part of a scheme by Natural England.

The species' population has fallen by more than 90% since the 1970s.

Area manager Simon Humphries said the cattle were excellent "where conservation grazing is needed and very well-suited to the uplands of Cumbria".

Their trampling and grazing keeps bracken at High House Farm, Winster, in check. This in turn allows violets - the butterfly larvae's favoured food - to grow.

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