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| UK Status |
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| Resident |
A species which is continually Resident in the UK with stable breeding populations. |
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| Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Migrant in the UK. It may be able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Migrants are normally reported in the UK every year. |
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| Rare Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Rare Migrant in the UK. It may able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Rare Migrants may not be seen for many years. |
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| Extinct |
A species which is Extinct in the UK, usually as a result of habitat loss. |
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| Introduction |
A species which ocurs in the UK as an accidental introduction. |
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Description
The Heath Fritillary is one of the rarest butterflies in Britain. It is also one of our smallest butterflies. It came very close to extinction in Britain at the end of the last century. It is restricted to a few key habitats primarily coppiced woodland or sheltered heathland where it can be seen flying close to the ground in a distinctive flutter and glide pattern.
The Heath Fritillary is often known locally as the 'Woodman's Follower' because of its habit of following the cycle of wood cutting around an actively managed wood taking advantage of new parts of the wood as the habitat changes... while moving from less suitable areas.
The Heath Fritillary is a Priority Species for conservation due to the continued loss of habitat and resulting drop in population.
Habitat
The Heath fritillary requires warm sunny conditions sheltered from extream weather in coppiced (or recently felled woodland) on acidic soils where the primary larval foodplant Cow-wheat occurs in abundance or in sheltered heathland valleys (Combes) on Exmoor below 400m above sea level, again where Cow-wheat occurs as scattered plants on Bilbery dominated heath.
There are a few sites in south-west England where it can be found breeding on unimproved grassland where Ribwort Plantain or Germander Speedwell occurs.
Larval Food Plants
Common Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense) Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) and Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys).
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is reported as being a secondary larval foodplant which is also used by colonies on Exmoor but this is yet to be confirmed. |
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| Distribution |
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| The Heath Fritillary is sadly one of our rarest butterflies and occurs at a very small number of locations in the UK. The end of traditional woodland management (coppicing) resulted in many colonies becoming extinct as the habitat of wooded areas became unsuitable for this butterfly. Without the continued cutting and re-growth in a wood the Heath Fritillary struggles to survive due to a lack of the larval foodplants. |
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| Where to see the Heath Fritillary |
The Heath Fritillary is sadly one of our rarest butterflies and occurs at a very small number of locations in the UK. The end of traditional woodland management (coppicing) resulted in many colonies becoming extinct as the habitat of wooded areas became unsuitable for this butterfly. Without the continued cutting and re-growth in a wood the Heath Fritillary struggles to survive due to a lack of the larval foodplants.
In the east of England the Heath Fritillary can only be found in woodlands in Kent and Essex but has also been artificially introduced (by a local breeder... not sanctioned by Natural England or Butterfly Conservation) to Park Wood and Copse Wood, (Ruislip, North-West London). In 2007, they were also recorded at Over disused railway cutting (Cambridgeshire). This site is unsuitable for this butterfly and it appears that these were again unsanctioned releases by a breeder.
The main natural sites in the east of England include: Thrift Wood (nr, Bicknacre, Chelmsford, Essex), Hockley Woods (nr. Hockley, Essex), East Blean Woods (Kent), Thornden Wood (Kent), Church Wood, (Kent) and Clowes Wood (Kent).
In the west of England, the Heath fritillary can be seen at Haddon Hill (Somerset, Nr. Dulverton), Lyd Valley (nr. Lydford, Devon), Lydford Butterfly Conservation Reserve (Devon), Greenscombe Wood where 1500 captive bred Heath Fritillary were released in 2006 and Deer Park Wood (nr. Luckett, Cornwall), and Blanchdown Woods, (nr. Gulworthy, Devon) where in early 2007, 130 Heath fritillary butterflies were released by Butterfly Conservation in order to re-establish a lost colony at the site. |
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| Population Trends |
| species status |
the Heath Fritillary is a resident species in Britain |
| population trend1 |
(1995-2004)  down by -46% |
(1976-2004) down by -73% |
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1Fox, R., Asher. J., Brereton. T., Roy, D & Warren, M.
(2006) The State of Butterflies in Britain & Ireland, Pices, Oxford. |
| UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Status |
| UK BAP status2 |
priority species (link) |
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| 2 For more information about the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species status, visit www.ukbap.org.uk. |
| IUCN Category Status |
| IUCN category3 |
 endangered4 |
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3 Fox, R., Warren, M & Brereton, T.
(2007) New Red List of British Butterflies. Butterfly Conservation, Wareham.
4 More information about IUCN categories available here. |
| Find Out More Online* |
| More information about the Heath Fritillary can be found on Peter Eeles excellent UK Butterflies web site. |
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Aberrations and Forms |
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| We currently know of 9 named aberrant forms of the Heath Fritillary. More information about aberrants can be found here. |
 ab. alba - Rehfous (1908) |
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| ab. atrovittata - Turati (1910) |
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| ab. cymathoe - Bertolini (1829) |
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| ab. latonigena - Spuler (1901) |
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| ab. nigrathalia - Johnstone (1944) |
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| ab. permixta - Stauder (1922) |
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| ab. radiata - Eisner (1942) |
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| ab. sohana - Cabeau (1922) |
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| ab. tectensis - Cabeau (1922) |
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| References |
| The information on this web site comes from a variety of freely available resources including books, academic reports and web sites alongside my own personal observations of butterflies. The species descriptions are currently in the process of being edited (spring 2009) to include new data, recent personal observations and referencing following a major update to the site.
A complete list of references mentioned in the text on this web site is available here. |
| * External Links Disclaimer |
| This web site includes links to information provided by external web sites which are not in any way under the control of www.britishbutterflies.co.uk. We cannot, therefore, be held responsible for the content of external web pages. |
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39-47mm
