Mass planting of marsh violets key to saving rare UK butterfly, says National Trust

The small pearl-bordered fritillary, a butterfly whose numbers have declined owing to factors such as wetland drainage and global heating. Photograph: Duncan Mcewan/Nature Picture L

A mass planting of marsh violets across England’s Shropshire Hills is to take place to try to prevent further decline of the small pearl-bordered fritillary or Boloria selene, a rare UK butterfly.

The small pearl-bordered fritillary’s distribution across the UK has plunged 71% since the mid 1970s and the species is now listed as vulnerable, according to the 2022 state of UK butterflies report.