Adonis unexpectedly reappears in the Cotswolds
13/07/2006 00:00:00![news/AdonisBluemedium[1]](/resources/listimg/news/AdonisBluemedium[1]@body.JPG)
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Adonis Blue facts
- This beautiful butterfly is one of the most characteristic species of southern chalk downland, where it flies low over short-grazed turf.
- The males have brilliant sky-blue wings, while the females are brown and far less conspicuous.
- Despite its restricted distribution, the butterfly can be seen in many hundreds on good sites.
- Traditionally, favoured dry, chalk or limestone grassland with abundant Horseshoe Vetch (caterpillars’ foodplants) growing in short turf 1–4 cm tall, except in sheltered quarries where slightly taller vegetation may be used. Most colonies occur on warm, south-facing slopes where favoured breeding areas are often sheltered hollows, especially old chalk pits and quarries. However, it now seems to be also breeding in slightly longer grassland, perhaps as a response to milder winters and hotter summers.
- Became rare after rabbit grazing ceased in the early 1950s (Myxomatosis). By 1980 there were only 70-80 colonies nationally, with major extinctions in the Cotswolds and Chilterns, but it is now starting to respond well to conservation initiatives, including better grazing, and is increasing in several counties.
The National Trust and butterflies
- The National Trust is the largest and most important landowner for butterflies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- All but two of the resident British butterfly species live on Trust land.
- It has many of the best UK sites for individual butterfly species, and many of the rich butterfly sites are home to scarce species.
- The National Trust puts massive effort into conserving populations of rare butterflies, as well as improving life for commoner species.
- It has responsibility for nine of the 11 species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.
- The Large Blue has been brought back from extinction – and the National Trust manages four sites for it, one of which the public can visit.
- The National Trust works in close partnership with Butterfly Conservation and other conservation bodies.
It is not known how and why they have reappeared, but it is thought that there are 3 possibilities behind this amazing recolonisation, all of which involve the warm August and September of 2003, when Adonis Blue numbers were unusually high.
- The Adonis Blue naturally migrated northwards from a tiny relic colony on the Cotswold Limestone near junction 18 of the M4, a distance of 12.5 miles.
- The butterfly managed to migrate from the North Wiltshire chalk downs to the Cotswolds. Very unusual for a species that rarely strays out of its home territory, this would be a large leap of 25 miles.
- It may well have migrated from both sites.
Conservation work has been carried out at Rodborough and Minchinhampton Common by the National Trust as part of the Cotswold Grazing Project. This has led to the introduction of cattle, Belted Galloway and Welsh Blacks, around Stroud to graze important grassland sites and help wild flowers and butterflies, such as the Duke of Burgundy and Chalkhill Blue, prosper.
Matthew Oates, one of the leading butterfly experts in the UK and a Nature Conservation Adviser for the National Trust, explains, ‘Never underestimate a butterfly. We think that the Adonis Blue may be benefiting from milder winters and hotter summers, and that it should produce a bumper brood this August and September. Its one of our loveliest butterflies and we are delighted to have it back in the Cotswolds.’
Courtesy of the National Trust.
