One of the UK’s most endangered butterflies has colonised new areas of a Forest in Devon, Butterfly Conservation (BC) can reveal.
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary, which has declined by 95% in the last 40 years, can be found in small pockets of the Forestry Commission’s Haldon Forest Estate near Kennford, but after work to create new habitat there, the butterfly has successfully expanded its range.
Project leader for BC, Jenny Plackett, said: “This orange, black and yellow coloured butterfly is named for the border of silver ‘pearls’ that run along its hindwing. The overall loss in its habitat has been extreme, so this project was vitally important to securing the future of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary here in Devon.”
The butterfly breeds in warm, sunny clearings, so volunteers helped to open up more land at Kiddens Plantation, Great Plantation and North Wood. The National Grid kindly supported this work by felling a wide strip of conifer trees adjacent to an existing breeding area.
Staff at Paignton Zoo also helped the project by growing more than 750 Common Dog-violets - the foodplant for caterpillars of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary – all of which were planted on the new sites.
Jenny said: “We couldn’t have done this without the many local volunteers, donations from Waitrose shoppers in Teignmouth and Torquay, or the funding we secured through a GrantScape award, supported by Devon Waste Management.
“Knowing that this special butterfly can now be found on all three of the sites we worked on is the perfect end to this project and it shows that conservation work really can save butterflies.”
Further habitat creation will be carried out by the Forestry Commission this year and members of BC’s Devon Branch will continue to monitor the butterfly at the new sites over the summer.
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is on the wing from April to May and very occasionally a second generation can be seen again in August.