Town & Country

Don’t fly away

HALF of all our British butterfly species are now at risk of extinction, according to Butterfly Conservation’s latest Red List, an increase of 26% on 2010. Of the 62 species accessed, four are already extinct—the black-veined white, large tortoiseshell, large copper and mazarine blue—with a further eight classed as ‘endangered’, 16 ‘vulnerable’ and five ‘near threatened’.

‘By collecting data every 10 years, we are able to see through the statistical noise created by the weather and other factors on a year-by-year basis. These are long-term gradual declines over decades,’ explains Butterfly Conservation’s head of science Richard Fox. ‘Even before this new assessment, British butterflies were among the most threatened in Europe and now