Butterfly Conservation, the charity dedicated to protecting British butterflies and moths, have recently released their Red List of threatened butterfly species – with half our remaining species now on the list.

Sadly, butterflies are just one example of our decreasing numbers of insects. Remember the hundreds of windscreen fly splats you’d get on a motorway journey 20-odd years ago? And now – hardly any.

This may be good news for windscreens, but it’s bad news for the eco system. Consider how many food chains begin with insects, not to mention our need for pollinators. Habitat changes, pesticides, pollution and global warming are to blame.

The Large Blue is no longer Critically Endangered

Thankfully it’s not all bad news. Thanks to a successful reintroduction programme, the Large Blue butterfly, which went extinct in Britain in 1979, has moved from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened on the Red List (although it is still endangered globally).

Hearing the demise of the Large Blue made extinction a real concept for me as a child –something more tangible than dinosaurs and dodos. This left an impression, so last year I was hugely excited to visit Daneway Banks nature reserve, owned by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. The reserve is now home to the largest global population of Large Blues and has been a huge success for the reintroduction programme.

We were lucky to spot one of these elusive butterflies, and I joyfully followed it for a while as it danced through the undergrowth. So much effort has gone into giving this tiny insect its home back in our country.

It relies entirely on one species of red ant

The Large Blue has pretty niche requirements for its life cycle. Caterpillars initially feed on wild thyme, before dropping to the ground where ants mistake them for ant grubs. The Large Blue relies entirely on one species of red ant, which then carries the caterpillars to their nest. The caterpillars feed on the real ant grubs until they are ready to turn into chrysalises and then emerge as butterflies. You can see them at Daneway Banks (if you’re lucky!) in June and July.

Encourage insects to your garden wherever possible

But it’s not all about nature reserves. Closer to home, do encourage insects to your garden where possible: avoid artificial grass and garden chemicals; take part in no-mow May (or better still, leave a patch of grass longer all year round); grow native plants, which better feed our insects and birds; make a small wildlife pond; build an insect house – we have an article on our website with instructions for how to make one (look in the Wildlife Matters section in News, Articles & Reviews).

Even just allowing a small area to be a little bit wild can make a big difference, and you can enjoy having a garden full of life.