Good news! A new population of the rare Heath Fritillary butterfly has been spotted in Kent, after a restoration project at the Woodland Trust's Victory Wood has helped numbers boom.
The beautiful butterfly — which is best distinguished by its dusky wing colours — was considered to be on the brink of extinction in Britain in the 1970s. Despite dwindling numbers, the work of the Woodland Trust has meant the species in now thriving once again.
Several Heath Fritillaries were seen venturing from nearby sites, after Woodland Trust staff found the presence of wood ants and reappearance of cow-wheat last summer. The butterflies need the cow-wheat plant to lay their eggs on, but the plant is known for being slow to spread (which can make it hard for the butterfly to breed).
"The discovery of Heath Fritillary is a wonderful find and comes after many years of hard work from volunteers and members of the Trust to restore the site to some of its former glory," Claire Inglis, the Woodland Trust's Site Manager at Victory Wood told Bird Guides.
"We planted large areas of woodland and ensured buffer zones lined the adjacent ancient woodland areas to encourage natural regeneration. This planting/regeneration in buffer zones, along with maintaining wide rides (trackways), has all been important for the establishment of these special species.
"This rare butterfly returning shows the importance of this work and we hope to discover more species colonising the site in the months and years to come."
Describing the relationship between the ants, trees, flowers and butterflies as "magical", Steve Wheatley, Butterfly Conservation's Regional Conservation Manager adds: "The return of the Heath Fritillary to Victory Wood is the result of an intricate chain of actions that began when the Woodland Trust started their restoration project."
Such great news for the beautiful butterfly species!
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