Britain’s butterflies bolstered by conservation efforts

Heath fritillary among species helped by habitat restoration - but concerns over future remain

Some of the UK's most threatened butterflies weathered a poor year in 2021 thanks to conservation efforts, annual survey results have shown.

The woodland-loving heath fritillary has doubled in abundance in the past decade, although it is 90% down on 1980 levels. The silver-studded blue also did well, recording its best year since 1996.