Marsh fritillary
22 March 2010
The marsh fritillary butterfly was once found throughout England on wet meadows, heaths and downland where its foodplant, Devil’s-bit scabious grows. Land drainage and agriculture pressures have fragmented the landscapes that once supported this attractive butterfly and are still causing local extinctions.
Marsh fritillary (c) Keith Porter
Latin name: Euphydryas aurinia
Population numbers: The marsh fritillary is renowned for its fluctuations in population size. The number of colonies sadly continue to decline, with 66% of colonies were lost between 1990 and 2000.
Where to see and when: Today, the marsh fritillary is restricted to isolated to parts of Southwest England, such as Salisbury Plain Military Training Area and has recently been restored to Cumbria. The best opportunity to see the adult butterflies is in late May or early June on one of our National Reserves where the species still exists.
What’s being done: Managing sites where the marsh fritillary still exists is a short term measure until we can restore patches of suitable habitat across landscape areas. Several projects are underway in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, and Cumbria to encourage farmers to restore meadows and wetlands for the benefit of this species.
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