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Living World

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

The Living World

Getting up close and personal with wild nature in Britain and beyond.

Intimate encounters and extraordinary observations of wild nature in Britain and beyond.

Living World: The Woodman's Butterfly

29/04/2012

The Woodman's Butterfly

BBC Radio 4 - Living World, The Woodman's Butterfly

Sarah Pitt goes in search of the endangered pearl-bordered fritillary.

Sarah Pitt goes in search of the endangered pearl-bordered fritillary with the help of Richard Fox and Gary Pilkington.

The Pearl Bordered Fritillary, sometimes called the 'April butterfly', is one of the first to emerge in Spring. A jewel of the woodland they have white 'pearl' markings on their wings but sightings are increasingly rare. The 2010 European Union target to halt the loss of bio-diversity has not been met for the UK's butterflies. Three quarters of species showed a decrease in either their distribution or population levels. The Pearl Bordered Fritillary is one such population with numbers declining by 42% over ten years.

Sarah Pitt finds one of the few remaining sites where they can be seen in England and finds out why they are also known as 'the Woodsman's butterfly'. This butterfly is termed a 'habitat specialist'. As it emerges from winter hibernation, its larvae feed only on leaves of violets. Woodland management techniques have changed over time and violets are no longer common in British woodland. What can be done to help the highly endangered Pearl Bordered Fritillary? Richard Fox and Gary Pilkington discuss the state of Britain's butterflies.

Produced and Presented by Sarah Pitt.

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