Give the Chalkhill Blue Butterfly
a new beginning in 2012

In recent years, the number of places where the rare Chalkhill Blue butterfly can be seen in Somerset have almost halved. Please support our appeal to raise £20,000 to help save this beautiful butterfly.

Somerset - a special place for Chalkhill Blue butterflies

The Mendip Hills are one of only a handful of strongholds for the rare Chalkhill Blue butterfly in the UK. The limestone grasslands found here are ideal places for Horseshoe Vetch to grow - ­ the only plant that Chalkhill Blue caterpillars eat. In a challenging agricultural environment, though, this vital food plant is being lost and with it our butterflies. 

Scientific research gives hope for future

Scientific research shows that if Horseshoe Vetch habitat is created or restored close to existing butterfly populations, the Chalkhill Blue will naturally colonise it. We have already identified 396 hectares ­- an area almost twice the size of Shepton Mallet -­ of limestone grassland in need of restoration or management across Mendip.

See Chalkhill Blue butterflies spread across the landscape

Only by creating bigger, better, more, and joined up grassland habitats across Mendip will we be able to give the beautiful Chalkhill Blue butterfly a new beginning in 2012.

With your support we will be able to:

• Manage high quality butterfly habitat on our nature reserves, so Horseshoe Vetch can grow in abundance
• Provide habitat management advice to landowners, and assist them with grant applications to create and restore wildflower grasslands
• Unlock further grants worth £106,000 already promised for wildlife conservation on Mendip by providing match funding
• Carry out surveys to track the butterfly’s progress and plan for the future 
• Increase the size and connectivity of the habitat network
• Work with other conservation organisations to create healthy landscapes for wildlife

More information

You can read more about why we have launched our appeal by clicking on the "more information" tab at the top of the page.

Thank you for supporting our New Year appeal.

Give the Chalkhill Blue butterfly a new beginning in 2012 

Helping rare wildlife 

Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Mendip Hills Living Landscape aims to restore, recreate and reconnect wildlife habitats across a working landscape. Helping ensure the survival of the Chalkhill Blue butterfly, and the grasslands it thrives on, will also support a range of other rare species. To focus efforts on the butterfly this year we need your help to raise £20,000.

Once a common sight

Horseshoe Vetch is the only plant that Chalkhill Blue caterpillars eat but in a challenging agricultural environment this vital food plant is being lost. Meadows and grazing pastures, where the vivid yellow Horseshoe Vetch food plant thrives, were once a common sight across Mendip. Now, only remnants can be found in ‘habitat islands’ across the landscape -­ the best occurring on protected nature reserves like the Trust’s Draycott Sleights.

Localised extinctions

To avoid localised extinctions in the already fragile Chalkhill Blue population, these small, scattered islands of habitat must be bigger, and better connected. This will help the Chalkhill Blue colonise new areas and be better prepared for environmental changes in the future. The good news is that unlike some butterflies, Chalkhill Blue is reasonably mobile, travelling distances up to 2km. This means that if habitat can be created or restored close to existing colonies, natural colonisation is likely. So, active management across the Mendips could make a big difference. 

These maps show the reduction of Chalkhill Blue sightings across the Mendip landscape over time

Map 1: Square kilometres in which the Chalkhill Blue was recorded before the year 2000	Map 2: Square kilometres in which the Chalkhill Blue can currently be found
Only by creating bigger, better, more, and joined up grassland habitats across Mendip will we be able to give the beautiful Chalkhill Blue butterfly a new beginning in 2012.
Thank you for supporting our New Year appeal.