Egg hunt reveals record numbers for rare butterflies after hedges grow wild

Brown hairstreak butterflies have received a boost from wilder hedges (Iain H Leach/PA) -

Landowners have given a rare butterfly a major boost by letting their hedgerows grow wild, conservationists have said.

Brown hairstreak butterflies have laid record numbers of eggs in parts of south Wales after hedgerows were protected from annual “flailing” cuts that destroyed a key habitat for them, Butterfly Conservation said.