The pearl-bordered fritillary, one of the UK’s rarest woodland butterflies, has spread its wings again in the woodlands of East Sussex and Kent where it previously became extinct. A pioneering conservation project by the Forestry Commission, Butterfly Conservation and the RSPB is helping to secure the future of this woodland butterfly.
The stunning orange and black woodland butterfly,has been seen in record numbers this year, following successful reintroductions by the Forestry Commission at Abbots Wood in East Sussex and the RSPB at Tudeley Woods in Kent.
More than 250 butterflies were spotted at Abbots Wood in woodland corridors, along pathways and across open spaces from the heart of the forest to the outer edges. At Tudeley Woods in Kent, where the pearl-bordered fritillary had previously disappeared, the RSPB has had initial
success with a similar scheme. After several years of coppicing there is a good supply of plants for both adults and caterpillars and an encouraging number of butterflies were seen using them this summer.
Elsewhere in recent years the population has been in steep decline, and it was only found in small numbers in less than ten isolated sites in the south-east. This priority species is now thriving on Forestry Commission land in East Sussex and is a significant success in halting the decline during the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.
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