Marsland reverses butterfly trend

4:45pm Saturday 17th May 2008

A 20 year survey of pearl-bordered and small pearl-bordered fritillary butterflies at Devon Wildlife Trust's Marsland nature reserve has revealed that numbers have been increasing dramatically (over 200%) for both species compared to the overall national decline thanks to careful management.

DWT's nature reserves officer Gary Pilkington has been managing the site for over 20 years to improve the wooded valley's glades and pastures for the benefit of these rare butterflies.

It is one of the most closely monitored sites in the South West for butterflies and the knowledge accrued over the years has really paid dividends.

The 212 hectare site on the North Devon coast supports five species of fritillaries in total and last year received funding from the North Devon AONB Sustainable Development Fund to further boost numbers.

As the flight season comes to an end for the pearl-bordered fritillaries the signs are looking good for another year.

DWT's Gary Pilkington said: "We have worked hard over the last two decades to improve the habitat for these beautiful and rare insects and it is great to see such positive improvements compared to the over 50% decline nationally for both the species.

"Over the years we have learnt exactly what they need to thrive here including appropriate bracken control, scrub management and providing the open ground loved by the pearl-bordered fritillaries.

"This is the ideal time of the year to see small pearl-bordered fritillaries in flight so our next job this month will be to monitor their numbers."

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