RSPB fights to save butterfly

A project is under way to save the mountain ringlet butterfly – the UK’s only mountain-dwelling butterfly – from extinction.

Since the 1970s it has disappeared from almost 40 per cent of sites at which it was previously recorded.

It is thought climate change is in part responsible for the decline, as butterflies are forced to retreat further up the slopes of mountains due to changes to their environment.

The RSPB has launched a crowdfunding initiative to help raise cash for a project to save the butterfly.

Due to the remote environment, research into the species is very difficult. Working with the National Trust, National Trust for Scotland and Butterfly Conservation, the RSPB hopes to fund vital research needed to establish how to provide the right habitat for the ringlet, and preserve the species for years to come.