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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Patrick Barkham

UK butterflies vanish from nearly half of the places they once flew – study

A white admiral
The white admiral is one of the species to have suffered a precipitous decline. Photograph: Mark Mirror/Getty Images

Butterfly species have vanished from nearly half of the places where they once flew in the UK since 1976, according to a study.

The distribution of 58 native species has fallen by 42% as butterflies disappear from cities, fields and woods. Those that are only found in particular habitats, such as wetlands or chalk grassland, have fared even worse, declining in distribution by 68%.

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