The decline of three of the UK’s most threatened butterflies could be reversed across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset with the launch of a ground-breaking conservation project. 

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation (BC) has been awarded more than £318,000 for the ‘All the Moor Butterflies’ project by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). 

These funds will help to restore and create habitat for the High Brown Fritillary, Heath Fritillary and Marsh Fritillary on some of the UK’s most famous moorland landscapes – Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor. 

These three butterflies are in serious decline due to habitat loss and changes in land management, with a 70% reduction in their distribution recorded over the last 40 years. 

The project will also benefit the nationally scarce Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, which is still found across the south west. This stunning bumble-bee mimic can be seen visiting plants in the daytime from mid-April until July. 

The ‘All the Moors Butterflies’ project will help volunteers, landowners and farmers to learn more about these charismatic species and discover how they can help them recover and thrive. 

Training days, guided walks, butterfly surveys and conservation work parties will be held across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset over the next three years to encourage the public to get involved with the project. 

The project will launch in January.