Butterfly extinct in England for decades makes comeback in Northamptonshire woods
A project bringing a butterfly once extinct in England back to Northamptonshire’s woodlands has secured £150,000 to continue its work.
Butterfly Conservation has received the Natural England funding to expand its Chequered Skipper reintroduction programme in Rockingham Forest over the next three years.
The species was once found across the East Midlands but disappeared following decades of decline and was declared extinct in England in 1976.
Conservationists began reintroducing butterflies from Belgium to Rockingham Forest in 2018, after years of work to improve their woodland habitat.
Five translocations have now taken place, with 208 butterflies released. The population has successfully bred, producing the first Chequered Skipper caterpillars in England for decades.
During the latest operation, 44 females and two males collected in Belgium were released at Forestry England’s Fineshade Wood, near Corby.
Dr Jamie Wildman, from Butterfly Conservation, said the team was “over the moon” after securing the funding.
The money will support another collection trip to Belgium, further habitat improvements in Rockingham Forest and work to increase the availability of bugle flowers on which the butterflies feed.
Research will also examine how the reintroduced butterflies are coping with different microclimates.
Dr Wildman said the aim was now to establish a self-sustaining population.