Rare heath fritillary butterflies surge in number on Exmoor after sunny spring
by Steven Morris from Environment | The Guardian on (#6Y78S)
More than 1,000 of one UK's rarest butterflies seen around Holnicote Estate thanks to grazing cattle and good weather
The combination of sunny spring weather and habitat improved by a herd of red Devon cattle has led to a surge in numbers of one of the UK's rarest butterflies on moorland in the English west country.
As well as increasing in established pockets on Exmoor, the heath fritillary is spreading to new areas, which experts say is highly unusual.
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