New habitats created for rare butterflies

A rare butterfly has been given a new canalside home by conservationists in a bid to increase its numbers, it was announced yesterday.

Volunteers from Butterfly Conservation have worked with British Waterways to create four new sections of habitat for the grizzled skipper on the banks of the Oxford Canal.

The small brown and white butterfly can be spotted throughout England and Wales but conservationists warn it is becoming increasingly rare.

More than a third of butterflies are in decline across Europe, according to a recent survey by the European Red List of endangered species, as intensive farming, climate change and a loss of habitats take their toll.

To boost the numbers of grizzled skippers, a patch of land four metres wide and 580 metres long was cleared along the canal at Fenny Compton, Warwickshire.

As well as clearing the area of overgrown plants and weeds, four large butterfly banks were planted with kidney vetch, a yellow flowering plant, and seeded with bird's-foot trefoil.

The creation of habitat is designed to provide perfect living and breeding conditions for the butterflies, which like warm, sunny sites where they can bask in the sun.

The flowers provide the adult butterflies with nectar and a place to lay their eggs.

Penny Foster, British Waterways' ecologist, said: "The rich lime grassland areas at Fenny Compton are the perfect breeding ground for the grizzled skipper.

"Once the kidney vetch has started to grow, it will hopefully attract other butterflies such as the small blue and the dingy skipper to the area and really boost the population of these rare insects."

Mike Slater, Butterfly Conservation's project manager for the area, said: "It's been fantastic working with British Waterways to conserve the endangered grizzled skipper. "This is a core area for this species and I am confident that the work will not only preserve the colony but increase its size."