One of Lincolnshire’s rarest butterflies is making a comeback in East Lindsey, Butterfly Conservation can reveal.
The wildlife charity has been working to stabilise numbers of the internationally threatened Marsh Fritillary by improving its habitat areas.
The work has paid off with Butterfly Conservation's Lincolnshire Branch reporting a dramatic increase in numbers at Chambers Farm Wood in Market Rasen.
Lawrie Poole is on the Branch committee and has been visiting the site for years: “We were really worried about this butterfly and in 2013 the most anyone saw at any one time was four.
“Last year was incredible – the fields were alive with them. I counted at least 41 in one go and that was just the ones near me. When you think this is one of our rarest butterflies, this is an amazing result and we’re keen to see the same this year.”
The Marsh Fritillary is brightly coloured - the upper wings are reddish-orange, with yellow or white patches and black veins. It is also the only fritillary to have a row of black dots around the bottom edge on both sides of the hindwing, but none on the forewing.
Once widespread in Britain and Ireland, its numbers have declined by nearly 50% over the twentieth century, a pattern also mirrored throughout Europe. Because of this it is now one of the few butterflies afforded protection on a continental scale.
Butterfly Conservation Lincolnshire regularly holds events at Chambers Farm Wood where volunteers are invited to take part in conservation work, which not only benefits the Marsh Fritillary, but other butterflies there like the Brown Hairstreak.
Lawrie said: “Every year, we also do egg counts for the Brown Hairstreak and in the early 1990’s they were close to extinction in these parts. But last year we counted nearly 4000 eggs, which is proof that the habitat management carried out by volunteers really does work.”
If you would like to help, a work party is being held at Chambers Farm Wood near Bardney on Sunday 25 January. It runs from 10am until 4pm and all tools are provided, just contact the event leader Richard Davidson on 01522-525725 to confirm before travelling.
If you're not sure about attending a work party, why not visit our Butterfly Garden at Chambers Farm Wood instead? Gardening days are coming up on:
February 3rd
March 3rd & 17th
April 7th & 21st
Chambers Farm Nature Reserve is located on the site of a medieval woodland and is well known for its wide range of butterflies. The 360-hectare (900-acre) beauty spot, near Wragby, Lincolnshire, has been rated as one of the best Forestry Commission sites in the UK for its insect life. www.forestry.gov.uk