Britain’s biggest butterfly conservation project begins today in an effort to restore traditional species to ancient woodlands.

The intention is to introduce new management methods in forestry and other areas where land has been neglected and the numbers of moths and butterflies are in decline.

It is hoped that species such as the pearl-bordered fritillary, whose population has declined by 70 per cent in the past 25 years, will make a comeback. The small pearl-bordered fritillary and the Duke of Burgundy, whose numbers have declined by 50 per cent in the same period, might also become familiar sights again. In addition, the wood white has suffered a decline of 72 per cent and is now extremely rare.

Conservationists are also anxious to build up populations of the silver-washed fritillary, whose numbers have fallen by 40 per cent in 25 years, and the heath fritillary, which is now present in just 40 colonies in an area north of Canterbury and is one of the rarest butterflies in Britain.

Moths in rapid decline that will also be encouraged to colonise in woodlands are the argent and sable, the drab looper, the waved carpet and the clay fanfoot.

A total of £900,000 has been earmarked for the South East Woodland Project for the next three years, but conservation experts believe that this is just the first phase of the programme. The work has been made possible by grants for £289,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £200,000 from the Tubney Charitable Trust. The intention is to restore butterflies to a vast expanse of the country, including Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

Martin Warren, chief executive of Butterfly Conservation, said: “We have lost so many butterflies because of a change of management of our forestry and woodlands. In the past, land owners used to coppice the wood, and this left large patches where the wood was cleared and which provided sunny clearances for butterflies to thrive.

“But this practice changed in the 20th century when we stated using coal for fire instead of wood. So now there are fewer clearances, and woodlands are managed in such a way now that they are the shadiest they have been for thousands of years. This means that butterflies and many insects have disappeared or are becoming extremely rare.”

The charity is trying to persuade landowners to coppice their wood, and special demonstration centres will be set up to offer demonstrations. These are at Rotherwood near Rye, East Sussex; Derge Woods, near Canterbury; and Tytherley Woods on the Hampshire-Wiltshire border.

Members of the public will be encouraged to attend training days to learn about the declining species and to find out how and when to identify them so that the new colonies can be monitored properly.

The charity organised an online vote for the country’s favourite common species and designated next week as Save Our Butterflies Week. The six species in the competition, each championed by a celebrity, are painted lady, brimstone, peacock, red admiral, comma and holly blue.

The results are expected before the end of this month. Anyone wishing to vote should log on to the website www. butterfly-conservation.org.

News of the new initiative coincides with the opening of a butterfly reserve in woodlands near Dumfries. The 250,000 acres in the heart of the Mabie Forest, a combination of spruce and ancient oak woodland, is described as the best butterfly site in Scotland and is also a refuge for the rare pearl-bordered fritillary.

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