‘Extinct’ large tortoiseshell butterfly spotted across southern England

A butterfly officially classed as extinct in the UK has been seen at sites across southern England, says a conservation charity.

In recent weeks there have been a flurry of sightings of the large tortoiseshell in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset and Cornwall.

It has led Butterfly Conservation to declare the large tortoiseshell a resident breeding species in the country once again, as opposed to a migratory one.

The species was once found across England and Wales, but was last recorded as a breeding species in the UK in the 1980s.