91Èȱ¬

The Heath Fritillary is a species of butterfly that was close to extinction in the UK, but thanks to efforts from the Woodland Trust, a new population has been discovered at a conservation site in Kent.

The site, called Victory Wood, was saved from becoming a potential landfill area in 2004 by the charity.

The Woodland Trust has since been recording the wildlife as it returns to Victory Wood.

Site manager, Claire Inglis, said: "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.

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."

The rare butterfly needs a special set of conditions in order to breed and thrive in an area.

It only lays its eggs on a certain plant, the common cow-wheat plant, but the plant is slow to spread and relies on wood ants to carry its seeds to new areas.

Steve Wheatley, Butterfly Conservation's Regional Conservation Manager, said: "This relationship between the ants, the trees, the flower, and the butterfly is just magical."

Woodland Trust staff noted the presence of wood ants and the reappearance of cow-wheat, and in summer 2020 Mr Wheatley surveyed the area and found it could support the return of the butterfly.

But, signs of the insect in earlier stages of their life cycle - butterflies come from caterpillars - were needed to prove that the butterflies had settled and were using the site.

This spring Butterfly Conservation and Woodland Trust staff and volunteers got down on their hands and knees to look for the caterpillar.

Eventually they spotted the small caterpillar on an oak leaf, and another one not too long after, leaving the team confident that the rare butterfly has now begun to repopulate itself at the site.

"This discovery proves the heath fritillary is now resident at Victory Wood and is an example of how working in partnership is having a positive effect on our native species", added Steve Wheatley.