Officially extinct butterfly ‘making a comeback’ in UK

Large tortoiseshells breeding at Knepp, Sussex, after being officially extinct in Britain for half a century

An elusive butterfly that has been officially extinct in Britain for more than half a century has been discovered breeding on the rewilded estate of Knepp in West Sussex.

The large tortoiseshell mysteriously vanished more than 50 years ago but this week male and female butterflies - much larger than the small tortoiseshell and without its white patterning - have been spotted at Knepp for the first time.