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Extinct
Butterfly Makes a Comeback
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Posted: 29th September
2006
Photo: Dave Simcox |
The Large Blue butterfly became extinct in Britain in 1979. But thanks to a partnership of conservation organisations, an incredible 10,000 flew on 11 sites this summer.
This is more than have flown in Britain at any time in the last 60 years.
The Large Blue project demonstrates that, with funding, the efforts of conservation organisations can turn around the fortunes of species and bring them back from extinction.
More than 150 scientists, conservationists and volunteers worked on the project, which is run in partnership between 11 organisations, co-ordinated by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Butterfly Conservation. The restoration of the Large Blue was possible due to funding from Natural England (formerly English Nature) under their pioneering Species Recovery Programme, and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Since work began on the Large Blue Project, the butterflies were introduced on five secret sites using stock from Sweden. Thanks to successive releases and natural spread, the butterfly now has colonies in Dartmoor, North Cornwall, The Poldens and The Cotswolds. In 2000 a colony was established on Collard Hill in Somerset - the only site where visitors can go and see the butterfly. Over 4,000 people have now witnessed the flight of the Large Blue for themselves.
Dr. Nigel Bourn, Director of Species Conservation at Butterfly Conservation, said: "The success of the Large Blue gives hope for the many other declining butterflies in the UK. Given the proper resources, we can restore a countryside full of butterflies and other wildlife."
The key to the survival of the Large Blue is making sites ideal for the Myrmica sabuleti red ant. The butterfly spends the larval stage of its life in an ant's nest, where it feasts on ant grubs, and pupates. In the 1970's, Professor Jeremy Thomas found that up to 5 species of red ant would adopt a Large Blue caterpillar - but the butterfly would only survive in the nest of one of them: the Myrmica sabuleti ant.
To ensure that reintroduction programmes worked, grazing regimes were established to keep the grass at the length required by the ant. Thyme, the herb on which the Large Blue lays its eggs, was planted and the site management was continually monitored to ensure that conditions were ideal for this highly specialised species and it's ant protectors.
Dave Simcox of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, who is manager of the Large Blue Project, said: "Whilst one landscape in Somerset is reasonably secure, the real challenge is to replicate this success throughout the Cotswolds, South Devon and the North Atlantic coasts of Devon and Cornwall. This will not only benefit Large Blues but also a wide variety of other rare, local and common species that thrive in the same environments."
• Butterfly Identification Chart
• Guide to Day-Flying Moths of Britain
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