£120,000 boost to help save the Large Blue butterfly

SUCCESS STORY: Large Blues have been brought back from extinction in Britain

The butterfly became extinct in Britain in 1979

September 2011: Butterfly conservation's work to save the Large Blue butterfly in Somerset has received a £120,000 boost. The SITA Trust has awarded the charity £119,989 for their project Expanding the Large Blue Landscape in the Polden Hills.

The globally endangered Large Blue butterfly became extinct in Britain in 1979. Since then this iconic insect has been successfully reintroduced to Britain in one of the most successful invertebrate conservation projects in the world.

Increasing suitable habitat by 60 acres
The Polden Hills of Somerset supports nearly 80 per cent of British Large Blue populations and the aim of the project is to consolidate this network of colonies through a programme of landscape scale habitat restoration on 15 different sites.

By increasing the area of suitable limestone grassland habitat by more than 60 hectares, the existing Large Blue populations will be strengthened, but it is also hoped it will encourage new populations to recolonise unoccupied sites.

Sam Ellis of Butterfly Conservation said: ‘This project is crucial to the future of the Large Blue in Britain and Europe. We hope to see the Large Blue expand its current range in the Polden Hills and colonise sites where the butterfly was last seen in the 1840s.'

Jools Granville of SITA Trust said: ‘We are extremely pleased to be able to support such a fantastic project.

‘Butterfly Conservation has an impressive track record gained over many years. We know from experience the amazing biodiversity outcomes that can result from direct funding in this area and look forward to seeing the benefit for all sorts of species in the Polden Hills.'