Marsh fritillary butterflies are native to the Solway Plain but became extinct in 1991. The butterflies need devil’s bit scabious (the butterfly’s larval food plant) and a nework of sites to move around between. Work has already been carried out re-introducing a population into Finglandrigg Wood National Nature Reserve but more needs to be done to make this sustainable.
This project will recreate habitat by identifying suitable areas of wet grassland within a close vicinity of each other and planting up devil’s bit scabious onto the site. It also may involve nurturing and releasing butterfly larvae. This is the first stage of a long term project on the Solway Plain. Public events, volunteer and community group planting are taking place throughout the project timescale.
