VOLUNTEERS are needed to help prevent one of Cumbria’s rarest butterflies being lost from the county for good, wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation has revealed.

The Pearl-bordered Fritillary used to be a common sight in the county in late spring and early summer - particularly at sites like Yewbarrow near Witherslack - but Butterfly Conservation’s Cumbria branch has noticed that numbers have fallen significantly in recent years.

Branch chairman Chris Winnick said: “We used to get sightings of up to 30 or 40 butterflies at a time, but this year people were only seeing two or three butterflies.

“I’m really worried that if we don’t do more to keep the sites here in great condition, come next summer we could lose the butterflies altogether.

“This is one of our most threatened butterflies and it would be a tragedy if we lost it in Cumbria.”

The Pearl-bordered Fritillary can be identified by its distinctive orange and yellow hindwing, which has a border of silver ‘pearls’.

Since the 1950s its numbers across the UK have declined to a point that it is now recognised as one of the country’s most endangered butterflies.

To volunteer at a work party organised by Butterfly Conservation’s Cumbria Branch, contact 01539 728254 or email chriswinnick@tiscali.co.uk.