A BUTTERFLY thought to be extinct in the UK has been spotted on Portland.

There have only been very rare sightings of the Large Tortoiseshell butterfly over the past 70 years - but the new February sightings confirm that the species is again resident in the UK.

Evidence of a breeding colony - egg shells and spent larval skins - was first found on Portland in June 2020.

It was last officially recorded as being resident in the UK in the 1950s. The butterfly was thought to have been ravaged by a disappearing habitat and the rapid decline of elm trees which are its favoured food source.

Gerry Hinde, of Portland, said that he saw some eggs in a tree at the bottom of his garden last year, but spotted the first Large Tortoiseshell butterfly this year, proving that the butterflies can breed and that the eggs are able to survive the winter period.

Mr Hinde, who took the photograph, said: "I hope this is the first of many sightings of the Large Tortoiseshell, in Portland, Dorset and beyond. A returning species of butterfly has to be really welcome news given the loss of natural habitat in recent times."

Sightings of the Large Tortoiseshell in February 2021 prove the species has successfully overwintered here.

Warden of the Portland Bird Observatory, Martin Cade, said that the butterflies typically hatch from their cocoons in late June and July and will only appear for a fortnight.

Mr Cade said he is happy to see the once indigenous butterfly return to Britain once again - "it is really exciting to see them breeding and surviving," he said.

He said that to see a Large Tortoiseshell butterfly in Britain would be considered almost mythical in the past, but hopes that it may become a regular sighting if they can continue to breed.

There have been previous sightings of the butterfly in the UK but they have all been considered migrants or captive-bred stock. It is unknown why the butterfly has returned and only now been able to breed and survive, but it is suggested that it could be down to the warming climate or the returning elm tree population, which declined after an epidemic of Dutch elm disease spread throughout the country.

The butterfly was observed and photographed near Rufus Castle. Other sightings have also been reported at Church Ope Cove and other parts of the island.

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