A zoo is hoping to repopulate a species previously described as extinct in the UK for nearly 100 years.

Dartmoor Zoo said it was working to reintroduce black-veined white butterflies which were believed to have become extinct after World War One, partly due to increased use of pesticides and removal of native hedgerows.

The zoo said nine female butterflies had arrived on Tuesday from Normandy, France, and within 10 minutes of arrival one had already laid a batch of eggs.

Chief executive officer Dr David Gibson said black-veined white butterflies were some of “the rarest animals in the UK at the moment” and the team hoped to change that.

First listed as a British species during the reign of King Charles II, black-veined white butterflies officially became extinct in Britain in 1925.

However, there were sightings of the species in hawthorn and blackthorn trees on the edge of London in June 2023.

Gibson said the UK was “one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world” and more needed to be done to help all species.

He said: “We have done an awful lot of damage to UK wildlife and biodiversity, and bringing one single butterfly back is just as important as reintroducing pine martens, lynx or even wolves and brown bears.

“You’ve got to start somewhere – pollinators are the absolute foundation of food systems, and plant life, and nature as a whole.”

The zoo is working on the breed release project alongside partners Knepp Rewilding, Royal Holloway University and Butterfly Conservation.

A number of the black-veined white butterflies would be set free in a designated release site in east Devon as soon as next summer, Gibson added.

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