High brown fritillary  (Argynnis adippe)

The abandonment of coppicing as a woodland management technique has led to major reductions in the numbers of the high brown fritillary. Coppicing produces open ground within a wood and warms up the soil, creating ideal conditions for the various species of violet favoured by the butterfly. Although coppicing is being revived as a conservation management tool, there are also problems associated with the increasing deer population browsing on the new shoots.

Where the butterfly is dependent on warm, bracken-covered slopes, the reduction in grazing has allowed bracken to grow unchecked, reducing the ground temperature and building up a deep litter that chokes out the violet. Agricultural improvement of these slopes has also taken place in many areas, eliminating both the violets and the warm habitat provided by the bracken. Many slopes have also been subjected to planting with conifer trees.

The scarcity of the high brown fritillary led to its inclusion in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme. In partnership with Butterfly Conservation and the National Trust, surveys were carried out to ascertain the levels of population in the butterfly's three main areas.

The Species Action Plan for the high brown fritillary recommended management techniques for the two differing habitats where the butterfly still occurred. For the woodland areas, a return to traditional coppicing methods was suggested, coupled with deer management to reduce the overbrowsing problem. The coppice technique was also to be applied to dense scrub around warm, sunny rock outcrops. Bracken management revolved around reducing the invasion by scrub, re-introducing grazing to create bare patches within the bracken stands, and removing dense bracken litter where possible. As part of the grazing regime, ponies were used to provide winter grazing, supplementing cattle grazing over the summer months. Paths were also cut through the bracken to provide patches open to the warmth of the sun and, therefore, suitable for egg-laying.

The butterfly is still by no means common, but with improved management it is hoped that this attractive species will regain its numbers and begin re-colonising areas from which it has been lost.