From Tim Corner
The Committee of the Avon Butterfly Project have selected six species that they consider as priorities for action in our area.
The full list is Grayling, Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Small Blue, Chalkhill Blue and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
Common to all six of these species is their apparent dependence on habitats that have been classified as UK Priority Habitat, such as ancient woodland and unimproved meadows.
BRERC has mapped these UK Priority Habitats and the correlation between them and the six selected butterflies can be seen clearly.
Unfortunately, the picture is much bleaker than the map suggests, as all historic butterfly records going back to 1834 were included. It is thought that many of the priority habitat sites no longer support the six species listed above.
However, in many cases this may be because nobody has looked closely enough at a site to establish the presence of a colony. If you are interested in helping to search for these butterflies in those areas that used to support them please contact BRERC and we will provide detailed maps, and guidance on how and when to search for them.
This is now a priority action for the Avon Butterfly Project.