The butterfly-mad British are celebrating what seems to be a permanent return of this large and spectacular species after Dutch elm disease killed it off from the island.<\/p>\n
Unlike the small tortoiseshell butterfly, the large tortoiseshell butterfly hasn\u2019t been a resident of the UK since the 1960s, but after several years of continuous widespread sightings, it\u2019s clearly no longer just a migratory visitor.<\/p>\n
Indeed, having been seen in Kent, Dorset, the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Hampshire, and Cornwall, Britain\u2019s Butterfly Conservation has officially designated it as the 60th \u2018resident\u2019 species in the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe signs are really positive, which is lovely,\u201d said Richard Fox, head of science for Butterfly Conservation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is resident and therefore it is another species to add to Britain\u2019s total, which is good news. It\u2019s not well-established enough yet to say it\u2019s definitely back for good and will be widespread across multiple landscapes\u2014we\u2019re still in that zone of uncertainty at the moment, but there are exciting signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Its caterpillars hatch on trees and feed on the leaves of elm, willow, aspen, and poplar.<\/p>\n
Lepidopterists, or butterfly biologists, believe that Britain represents the northern-most part of the animal\u2019s range, and with Europe experiencing higher than recent-historic-average temperatures, this makes it an even more ideal home than during the 20th century.<\/p>\n
According to the Guardian, sightings have been reported as far back as 2006, but since butterflies can and often are migratory, it wasn\u2019t at the time possible to say the animal was recolonizing its former haunts. Rather, it was more likely a seasonal visitor.<\/p>\n
Then, in 2020, sightings of the first wild caterpillars in Dorset confirmed the animal was back and breeding in the wild, and as it spread out across the surrounding, lower English counties, gracefully returned to the resident list.<\/p>\n
Butterfly Conservation are urging residents of these areas to log details of any sighting of the large tortoiseshell on iRecord, a citizen-science application which is helping build a picture of the expanding range of the insect.<\/p>\n