Raiders in bugs swoop hunted
CATERPILLAR rustlers who have stolen a rare species that turns into Britain’s largest butterfly are being hunted by police.
Around 20 swallowtail butterfly bugs were taken from a nature reserve in a bizarre raid.
The thieves waded out into an area of wetland at the Hickling Broad nature reserve in Norfolk to dig up a rare milk parsley plant where the caterpillars were feeding.
Swallowtails, which have striking black and yellow markings, have a wingspan of 3.5in and are only found in the wild in the fens of the Norfolk Broads.
Brendan Joyce, chief executive of The Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said: “It is an appalling wildlife crime to dig up these rare plants from an internationally important nature reserve and deliberately take rare swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.
“It is very unlikely that the plants or the caterpillars will survive.”
Norfolk Police confirmed they are investigating the incident under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which states it is an offence to uproot plants from the wild without permission. A MAN, 48, received a two-year prison sentence for refusing to pay tax for 10 years because God had told him not to in Monroe, Michigan, US.
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