Bringing back the Small Blue
The purpose of the project is to reverse the population decline of the Small Blue butterfly in Warwickshire through a programme of habitat restoration and creation and by monitoring the impact of this work on the habitat and butterfly populations. An important part of the project involves habitat management on extinct and potential sites in proximity to existing colonies so natural colonisation is encouraged, thus re-establishing a viable metapopulation for the Small Blue.
Projects Updates:
29/06/2009 14:43: The launch of Bringing back the Small Blue
Britain’s smallest butterfly is in drastic decline due to the loss of its chalk and limestone grassland habitat. The Small Blue can only be found at three sites in the West Midlands; all of which are active or former quarries near Southam.
Butterfly Conservation launched its Bringing Back the Small Blue project at CEMEX’s Southam Quarry site in June. The project aims to restore flower-rich grassland for this beautiful butterfly at 15 sites, helping dwindling populations to spread and expand.
To date 3.5 hectares of scrub has been cleared and 2000 Kidney Vetch have been planted, transforming four sites into butterfly havens.
