Large tortoiseshell butterfly found breeding again across southern England
Mar 14th 2026
Multiple recent sightings across southern counties have prompted Butterfly Conservation to declare the large tortoiseshell a resident breeding species again after decades of absence.
- Sightings reported in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset and Cornwall.
- About 20 individuals were reported in recent days.
- Butterfly Conservation has reclassified the large tortoiseshell as a resident breeding species in the UK.
- The species was last recorded breeding in Britain in the 1980s.
- Its historical decline has been linked to the spread of Dutch elm disease because adults lay eggs on elm trees.
- Scientists say a warming climate is likely helping the species increase across its European range.