Good News Network · 3 hours ago

Butterfly That Went Extinct in Britain a Century Ago Set for Return to Famous Rewilded Estate Land

A butterfly extinct in Britain for a century is returning to Knepp Estate, where struggling farmland was transformed into one of England's most biodiverse landscapes. Conservationists flew black-veined white butterfly larvae from continental Europe in special containers to help them "overwinter on the estate and acclimatize to conditions in Britain," carefully preparing what earlier reintroduction attempts could not achieve. The larvae are thriving on hawthorn and blackthorn shrubs in the rewilded mosaic of wooded grasslands, the same estate that now shelters nightingales and rare purple emperor butterflies. What began as one family's failing farm has become a place where species once lost can find their way home again.