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Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.
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Threats
A number of factors contributed to the decline of this species, including widespread loss and fragmentation of heathland due to agricultural intensification, forestry and development. There has been a 60 percent loss of heathland in Britain, and remaining fragments have often become degraded due to a decline in traditional management techniques. The introduction of myxomatosis during the 1950s resulted in a huge decline in rabbit grazing and a loss of short vegetation. Chalk grassland habitats greatly declined as a result (6).
Conservation
The remaining heathlands in Britain are the focus of huge conservation effort. A number of key silver-studded blue populations occur in nature reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and candidate Special Areas of Conservation. There have been a number of re-introductions of this species, and English Nature has produced a booklet on its conservation in lowland heathland (2). The silver-studded blue is a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) (2).
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View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
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There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway.
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The UK Biodiversity Action Plan for this species is available at UK BAP.
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