More A Way Of Life… Look, this is just between you and me

It’s Large. It’s Blue. And It’s Back!

The Large Blue Butterfly became extinct in Britain in 1979, but thanks to a diligent effort by the charity Butterfly Conservation, it's been reintroduced to five locations and from those has already started spreading to others.  This is remarkable enough simply as an effort by the dedicated conservationists.  But it's more remarkable still when you consider the specific needs of the species.

To start with, it lays its eggs only on wild thyme flowers, and once they hatch, the grubs are dependent on one specific species of red ant out of the five native to Britain to take them into their nests and provide them with sustenance while they grow.  (Yes, they eat the red ant grubs in the nest - I never said this was pretty.)  And those ants in turn will only thrive where the grass is of a particular length, which is partly why the butterflies became extinct in the first place, as farming and grazing patterns changed.

I think this is all very cool.  And I wanted to post some good news in the middle of all the political bollocks that's clogging up the news at the moment.