Waitrose shoppers in Torquay have raised money to help secure the future of a rare butterfly found at Haldon Forest near Exeter, Butterfly Conservation (BC) can reveal.
The Devon Branch of BC were handed a £336 cheque from the town’s Waitrose store, raised through their Community Matters Scheme.
The wildlife charity will be using the money to continue conservation work for the threatened Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly at Haldon Forest in Kennford.
The butterfly can be identified by its distinctive orange and yellow hindwing which has a border of silver ‘pearls’. Since the 1950’s numbers of Pearl-bordered Fritillary have declined to such a point that it’s now recognised as one of the country’s most endangered butterflies.
Chairman of BC’s Devon Branch, Barry Henwood, said: “This will be great boost for butterflies at Haldon Forest, but especially the Pearl-bordered Fritillary. We work closely with the Forestry Commission to improve conditions there for this once widespread butterfly, which is now highly threatened.
“This money will help us continue this work and we were delighted to receive the cheque, so thank you very much to all the Waitrose customers for supporting us.”
Spring visitors to Haldon Forest might catch a glimpse of this 
beautiful butterfly between May and June as it lays eggs on violets - the foodplant for its caterpillar. The site also features a three-mile circular wildlife trail, where at least 30 different species of butterfly can be seen.
Haldon Forest was the focus of a three-year SITA funded project, ‘Saving Devon’s Precious Pearls’. The project, which completed in March 2014, improved more than three hectares of habitat for the Pearl-bordered Fritillary.