Reintroduction of forest butterflies set to expand

1 hour ago

Alex Pope

News image — Dr Jamie Wildman releases a Chequered Skipper into Rockingham Forest

Pete Hughes Dr Jamie Wildman, holding up a butterfly on his finger. He is slightly blurred out in the background. He is smiling and has sunglasses and a cap on, and he is wearing a navy blue collared top. There are further trees and foliage behind him. — Dr Jamie Wildman releases a Chequered Skipper into Rockingham Forest

Conservationists who have helped reintroduce abutterfly back into England have been awarded £150,000 to expand the project over the next three years.

In total, 46 Chequered Skippers were released into Rockingham Forest close to Corby, Northamptonshire, in May, using a donor population from Belgium.

The funding has been given to the Butterfly Conservation charity from Natural England's Species Recovery Programmewith the hope the species will be reintroduced to Peterborough.

Dr Jamie Wildman, based in Kettering, and from the charity, said the money would go towards "self-sufficiency of the reintroduced population, to ensure these beautiful insects can thrive in England once again".

Pete Hughes The Chequered Skipper on a flower, with leaves all around it. It has yellow, brown and beige chequered wings. — Until the 1950s, the Chequered Skipper was still locally common in woodlands across the East Midlands

The charity said the Chequered Skipper went extinct in England following a sudden decline in 1976, believed to have been caused by changing woodland management in the species' Rockingham Forest heartland.

It said the coniferisation of the ancient woodlands initially led to more open conditions and the species thrived, but as the conifers grew the population disappeared.

Work to reintroduce different butterflies back to the area has been ongoing for the past 10 years.

Its former stronghold was Castor Hanglands, in woodland to the west of Peterborough, where it had been recorded for over 120 years.

The new project hopes it will be reintroduced in the area.

Peter Hughes A chequered skipper buttery fly, on a leaf, showing a brown and golden butterfly, with its wings out. There is more foliage behind the butterfly. — The Chequered Skipper "is a very enigmatic species, a beautiful golden brown jewel of English woodlands that was declared extinct in 1976" said Dr Wildman

To catch some new Chequered Skippers, Wildman and two other officers from Butterfly Conservation, along with 20 helpers from the Belgian Research Institute for Nature and Forest, trekked through the Fagne landscape.

Those that were caught were marked with a red felt-tip pen, and 44 females and two males were brought back to the UK and released into Fineshade Wood, where they all took flight.

Pete Hughes The chequered skipper having a mark put on it, with a pen. The butterfly is at the top of a white pot. — Each butterfly was marked with a red felt-tip pen to help the charity's volunteers monitor them

Karl Ivens, wildlife manager at Forestry England, said: "The return of the Chequered Skipper to Rockingham Forest is a fantastic conservation success story.

"It shows what can be achieved when expert partners, dedicated volunteers and long-term habitat management come together.

"We're incredibly proud to be helping create the conditions for this beautiful butterfly to thrive once again in Fineshade Wood, which we look after."