Exmoor estate sees resurgence of rare butterfly

ONE of the UK’s rarest butterflies is seeing a significant rise in numbers and range in Exmoor, conservationists have revealed.

- ROD MINCHIN

More than 1,000 heath fritillaries have been recorded so far this year on the National Trust’s Holnicote estate in Somerset.

This is a significant rise from around 600 at the same time last year.

The heath fritillary was almost extinct in Britain in the early 1980s but targeted conservation work has brought it back from the brink.

An exceptionally warm and sunny spring has also prompted the heath fritillary to emerge two to three weeks earlier than usual.

Staff and volunteers have adjusted their monitoring accordingly, although there is concern that climate variability could impact the butterfly’s life cycle if wet weather arrives before the flight peak.