 |
 |
Large blue butterflies flying in Gloucestershire.20/06/2011 13:56:34
Large blue butterflies were extinct in the UK until reintroduced in the 1970s On Tuesday 14th June 2011 large blues were spotted in flight at Daneway Banks nature reserve for the first time this year, these beautiful and very rare butterflies was reintroduced to the reserve in 2002, after being extinct in the county since the 1960's. The reintroduction is part of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology's (CEH)Large Blue Project. Over the last two years, bad weather meant that successful large blue emergence numbers had taken a tumble, and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust was worried that this might have a significant impact on an already delicate population. "It's great to see them returning again this year, and we're hoping that this means they are beginning to shake off the last two years of poor weather" Says Pete Bradshaw, Stroud Area Reserves Manager. "We work so hard to get the conditions right for them, so it's heartening to see them persevering". Managed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, with the kind help of the Daneway Inn's herd of Norfolk horn rare breed sheep, and Welsh mountain ponies from Butt's Farm (a rare breed farm in Cirencester) the reserve provides the large blues with a unique habitat and special conditions in which to breed.Butterflies need ants & thyme There's a very short window in which to see the large blues, but if the weather conditions stay good we hope they might be around for the next two weeks if you're planning a visit.
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment