The incredible revival of green butterflies in the UK

To regenerate the blue butterfly that was once declared extinct, British scientists miraculously cleared a large hill, bringing a familiar habitat to red-headed ants, the important food of this butterfly.

Declared extinct, but after 30 years, the beautiful green butterfly green butterfly in the UK was surprised to return to about 20,000.

According to scientists in the UK, green butterflies are the "hardest" animals in the world. There is an opinion that their disappearance is due to butterfly hunters. However, the group of researchers led by Professor Jeremy Thomas from Oxford University and the Center for Ecology and Hydrology said that the disappearance of hillsides where red ants live is the reason for extinction. of the big green butterfly.

Green butterflies reappear in England after 30 years of absence.

Green caterpillars release a poison from their skin, deceive ants and make them think they have lost their nests. The worms then create cocoons and live in the ants' nest for 10 months before the butterfly wall in the spring. Large butterflies can only live on hillsides with many grasses and lawns with red ants nesting.

Because farmers stop releasing livestock on the hillside, the grass in that area grows very quickly. The grass is long and the soil is full of bushes, causing the red ants to lose their land. Because there are not enough ants to feed the larvae, the green butterfly died in 1979.

Therefore, in the past 25 years, conservationists have cleared the bushes and brought red ants to live on the 33 hillsides in the Southwest. Then, in the 1980s, large green butterflies imported from Sweden were relaxed in regenerated fields. This arrangement was very successful and now, the number of green butterflies in the UK is more than in 1950.

Researcher David Attenborough said: 'The recovery of large green butterflies in the UK is a significant success, reflecting the power of biological research that preserves environmental changes'.

In a report from Professor Thomas in the Science newspaper, it was mentioned that some other animals benefited from green butterflies. Many hill areas noted an increase in the number of birds, rare plants and other butterflies. Professor Nigel Bourn, of the volunteer group to protect butterflies, said: "Great project has proven, humanity can fully recover".