A study of Northern Brown Argus in the Scottish Borders by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation Scotland (BCS) has revealed the region to hold significant nationally important colonies. However, sadly 54 out of 92 butterfly colonies identified have been deemed as under long-term threat primarily from unsuitable grazing and afforestation.
The Northern Brown Argus is a small chocolate brown butterfly that has its UK stronghold in the Scottish Borders region. The butterfly is high priority species for BCS as its favoured habitat, species-rich grassland, is in severe decline.
In recent summers a team of BCS volunteers have been surveying many of the Northern Brown Argus colonies in the Scottish Borders and have found that almost half are at risk of being lost. Many sites are being lost to bracken and gorse invasion whilst the national drive to increase woodland cover is leading to the large-scale loss of pasture and hill-ground in the Borders to tree-planting, which if done insensitively, can lead to the loss of the butterfly’s habitat.
To combat this BCS’s volunteers in the Borders have been successfully working with landowners and woodland agents to adapt planting plans to leave pockets of species-rich grassland habitat for the Northern Brown Argus to survive.
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Posted On: 24/08/2020