Don’t fly away
HALF of all our British butterfly species are now at risk of extinction, according to Butterfly Conservation’s latest Red List, an increase of 26% on 2010. Of the 62 species accessed, four are already extinct—the black-veined white, large tortoiseshell, large copper and mazarine blue—with a further eight classed as ‘endangered’, 16 ‘vulnerable’ and five ‘near threatened’.
‘By collecting data every 10 years, we are able to see through the statistical noise created by the weather and other factors on a yearby-year basis. These are long-term gradual declines over decades,’ explains Butterfly Conservation’s head of science Richard Fox. ‘Even before this new assessment, British butterflies were among the most threatened in Europe and now the number of threatened species in Britain has increased by five, an increase of more than one-quarter.’ Change in land use is the major problem, says the charity, including intensive agriculture and urban development, followed by climate change.
Those on a clear downward trajectory include the large heath, grayling, swallowtail and Adonis blue, with two new species added to the Red List for the first time—scotch argus and dark green fritillary. But there is a silver lining in that conservation efforts, where possible, have paid off. The large blue, for instance, extinct in Britain since 1979, has been successfully reintroduced in Somerset and Gloucestershire. Others that have benefitted from targeted action include the high brown fritillary, Duke of Burgundy and pearl-bordered fritillary. However, ‘with the extinction risk increasing for more species than are decreasing, more must be done to protect our butterflies,’ adds Dr Fox.
‘It is an issue of scale,’ he continues. ‘Doubling our efforts would not be enough— we probably need to multiply them by 50, which will require political support. Many conservation organisations focus on endangered species intensively across different landscapes of the UK, in partnership with farmers and landowners, and are successful. It does work but it’s hard work, requiring dedicated, long-term commitment.
‘Part of the ambitious step up in effort we need is, of course, funding,’ he adds. ‘Hopefully from the Government putting more money into agri-environment schemes, many of which are being revised at the moment. Having set targets, they’ll have to engage with landowners, farmers, conservation organisations and big landowning bodies, such as the Forestry Commission, local authorities and the MOD.’