Half of UK’s butterfly species vulnerable to extinction as five join red list

Time is running out to save 58 resident species, Butterfly Conservation warns

Half of Britain's butterfly species are now listed as threatened with extinction after five more joined the new red list" of endangered butterflies.

The increase in the number of species listed as vulnerable" from nine in 2011 to 16 today is a warning that time is running out to save the 58 resident species, according to Butterfly Conservation, which compiled the red list from scientific monitoring data according to the criteria set out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).