0:00:16 > 0:00:21Britain's butterflies are amongst the most beautiful creatures on earth.
0:00:24 > 0:00:31Their beauty and miraculous life cycle has been an inspiration for hundreds of years,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35and for many people they are still an obsession.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39Reminds me of my very happy childhood.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40A free and happy time.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45They take you to the most special places.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51They are living spirits of beauty, fascination and wonder.
0:00:53 > 0:01:02Our love of butterflies spans generations, class, culture and creed.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07What is it about them that captures our imagination?
0:01:07 > 0:01:11And could they be more than frivolous objects of beauty?
0:01:13 > 0:01:19There's a growing belief that they may actually help preserve the landscapes that we love.
0:01:19 > 0:01:26But can a passion for butterflies really help save Britain's countryside for us all?
0:01:37 > 0:01:46Over 300 years ago, a British naturalist wrote, "You ask, what use are butterflies?
0:01:46 > 0:01:51I reply, "to adorn the world and delight the eyes.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56"To brighten the countryside like so many golden jewels."
0:01:56 > 0:01:58And he was right.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Britain has an incredible variety of over 50 butterflies.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05Proud peacocks...
0:02:07 > 0:02:09..admirals...
0:02:09 > 0:02:11..and emperors.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Iridescent blues...
0:02:18 > 0:02:20..delicate whites...
0:02:23 > 0:02:27..patchwork fritillaries...
0:02:27 > 0:02:29..and painted ladies.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44A search for butterflies will lead you to the most beautiful parts of Britain.
0:02:47 > 0:02:53The love butterflies have for our most beautiful landscapes appears to rival our own.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00It opens up an intriguing possibility.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04As the pressure on our countryside from development and intensive agriculture grows,
0:03:04 > 0:03:11could a passion for butterflies help preserve the landscapes that we love?
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Britain's passion for butterflies certainly has a long history.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31But it was the Victorians that took it most seriously.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41Loie Fuller was one of the most famous people in the world...
0:03:42 > 0:03:49..a music hall star whose butterfly dances wowed audiences at the Folies Bergere.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54She was amongst the first people ever captured on film.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04When it came to real butterflies, gentlemen took to the hills in pursuit,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08seeing the search as a route to spiritual and moral improvement.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16The most influential butterfly collector of them all was Lord Rothschild,
0:04:16 > 0:04:21a regular visitor to Buckingham Palace in his zebra-drawn carriage.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26His collections helped found London's Natural History Museum,
0:04:26 > 0:04:30and his collectors scoured the globe in search of rarities.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40Over 100 years later these enthusiasts are largely forgotten.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43But our passion for butterflies lives on.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Matthew Oates is one of the country's leading butterfly experts.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00For most of the year he's the National Trust's head of butterfly conservation,
0:05:00 > 0:05:06but every summer he meets fellow enthusiast Neil Hulme for a spot of butterfly sport.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08He's good.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12He's very good. He's got something pretty lethal up his sleeve.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Matthew's got a big, big reputation, but this stuff here, I've used this
0:05:16 > 0:05:20- to devastating effect so far this year.- I'm more than ready.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23This is my secret weapon. He doesn't know I've got it.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28- I'm very ready.- We'll have a drink together afterwards Definitely. He'll be paying.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Game on!
0:05:30 > 0:05:34# Out in the midday sun! #
0:05:34 > 0:05:39High in the trees is the object of their affection, a beastly beauty,
0:05:39 > 0:05:46with habits almost as peculiar as their own, his imperial majesty, the purple emperor.
0:05:46 > 0:05:53I saw my first purple emperor 40 years ago. It changed my life.
0:05:53 > 0:06:01Like all emperors, they remain aloof, rarely descending to earth, unless you appeal to their beastly side.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06Critically, this butterfly does not visit flowers. Anything vile...
0:06:06 > 0:06:13Which explains the array of foul-smelling foodstuffs Matthew and Neil have proudly prepared.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- Are you happy with that line? - I'm happy with that line, yeah.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20So anything which lands within the baited area, two points.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Those are the time-honoured rules and regulations.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29There's a tradition of people baiting for purple emperors which
0:06:29 > 0:06:35goes back at least 250 years, and they used to put out dead rabbits and other offal and carcasses.
0:06:35 > 0:06:43The great purple emperor collector IRP Heslop imported a trailer-load of fresh pig manure
0:06:43 > 0:06:48from Brigadier Fanshawe's pig farm and dumped that in the middle of a south Wiltshire wood.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Did Heslop's mound of pig dung work?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52No it didn't, actually.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55THEY BOTH LAUGH
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Matthew and Neil meet here every year,
0:07:00 > 0:07:06proudly carrying on the traditions of those eccentric British naturalists.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10This is the time of year when I give up all of the serious
0:07:10 > 0:07:17sort of work that I do for butterfly conservation, and it's silly season.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19A little bit of the hau loc,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24and then I'm going to mix that with some of my Ghanaian shito.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29I'm going to try and counteract the effect of the hau loc, Vietnamese shrimp paste,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33by placing the delicious jellyfish slice.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36I'm just going to tip it out, because I think it's foul.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38There we go.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Three emperors in the air together.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Four, signal four. Hang on, the leader's a female.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- Oh, it is! - That's two males chasing a female.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48Ooh, she's receptive.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51- She's leading them on.- She's leading them on. Ooh, the naughty girl!
0:07:51 > 0:07:54But that may well be a pairing about to occur.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57They must be smelling something.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And that's why Matthew and Neil's bait works.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06These butterfly emperors must seek out and vigorously pursue
0:08:06 > 0:08:08every virgin female they find.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13But the secret to success lies in their unusual diet.
0:08:13 > 0:08:19In order to become virile, it's thought they must first drink an elixir of mineral salts,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23a love potion, which Matthew and Neil have spent years trying to perfect.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Right, we've got one down.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Matthew, it's virtually on the line.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32I think it's just on my side.
0:08:32 > 0:08:33His wing tip is on my side.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I claim that, yes.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Your pickled mudfish seems to, um...
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Pickled mudfish is picking up latterly.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42The truth is I can't remember what the score is.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I think I've won, he thinks he's won...
0:08:44 > 0:08:46- Let's call it a draw, then. - Call it a draw.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48- Congratulations.- Jolly good.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I accept victory, and let's go and listen to the cricket.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Test match special here we come.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- They're still up there, you know. - They still are, yes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Well, on a warm day like this they can fly till 8pm in the evening.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04And above everything else, what it shows is that
0:09:04 > 0:09:09when it comes to eccentricity, Britain still has what it takes.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Matthew and Neil are part of an army of thousands of amateur naturalists
0:09:16 > 0:09:20closely following the lives of butterflies across Britain.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28Together they have revealed a painful truth.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33Three quarters of all our butterflies are in decline.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37There must be something wrong in the British countryside.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43To understand why Britain's butterflies are in trouble,
0:09:43 > 0:09:49you have to start here, where a butterfly's life begins.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54Each egg is pregnant with possibility, but there's a hazardous life ahead.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Eating your way out of a protein-rich egg is just the first problem.
0:10:02 > 0:10:09Many British birds time the birth of their young to coincide with this plentiful food supply.
0:10:09 > 0:10:16So it's no surprise that the only thing rivalling a caterpillar's appetite is its ability to hide.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23The brown hairstreak's colour enables it to blend into the foliage.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30And its shape mimics the serrated edges of the blackthorn leaves.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37A brimstone hides by lining itself up on the midrib of a leaf.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42And the orange tip mimics the seed pods of the garlic mustard on which it feeds.
0:10:42 > 0:10:50The purple emperor, looking exactly like a sallow leaf,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54right down to the pattern of the leaf veins.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02This newly-hatched orange tip would fit comfortably on a pinhead.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08But before it can become a butterfly it will need to grow into this monster.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Just three weeks later,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15it'll be 800 times heavier.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18It results in a huge dilemma.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Caterpillars need to stay hidden.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25But they can't afford to stay still.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30Unless, that is, they know they're being watched.
0:11:42 > 0:11:48When it comes to saving butterflies, caterpillars are key.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Flowers make a garden butterfly-friendly, but every butterfly
0:11:52 > 0:11:58was once a hungry caterpillar, and flowers mean nothing to them.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02Each kind prefers a different plant, and when development and intensive
0:12:02 > 0:12:08agriculture destroys those plants, butterflies disappear.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14But leaving land to nature isn't enough.
0:12:14 > 0:12:21Creating the right conditions for these crucial food plants can take considerable effort.
0:12:24 > 0:12:32A lifetime working in these woods has taught one butterfly enthusiast the true value of that hard work.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36I think some people still see gamekeepers as trying to exterminate
0:12:36 > 0:12:41everything that moves, and it's not like that at all.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I've lived and worked in the countryside all my life.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Seen a lot of changes.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47There are not so many now on the land.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Youngsters are just not interested.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53It's different to what it used to be, you know?
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I don't think the majority of people understand.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02You have to be a forester, you have to be a farmer...
0:13:02 > 0:13:04It all comes into the job.
0:13:06 > 0:13:14In the depths of winter, the sight of butterflies flitting through summer flowers seems impossibly distant.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19But thanks to David Nash, the gamekeeper on this country estate,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22they're here, waiting.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26A purple emperor caterpillar nestles in a frozen fork.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32Inside a twisted honeysuckle leaf, a white admiral caterpillar.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38An orange tip chrysalis looking like a dead twig.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43A speckled wood waits patiently to emerge.
0:13:45 > 0:13:53These butterflies are familiar to David because this is a working woodland, a rare thing in Britain.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56We're trying to create a sustainable woodland, not just for timber,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00but for everything that lives and grows in the woodlands.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05Most shooting estates, because of the management for the shooting,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10provides tremendous habitat and food plants for the woodland butterfly.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Opening up of some of the woodlands is giving them what they want.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19There's more to creating woodland habitat than letting trees grow.
0:14:19 > 0:14:26Without coppicing, they become overgrown, dark, and the plants butterflies need die out.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31So, as British tradition dies, so do the butterflies.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Coppicing continues here, to encourage animals which are shot for sport,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44a pursuit preserving an increasingly rare habitat.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51Even David's wood pile provides shelter from the harshest winter weather.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05This hungry wood mouse is not alone.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10In its search for food, it's about to stumble upon something terrifying.
0:15:14 > 0:15:20Camouflaged against the bark, something hisses in the darkness.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31This warning wards off most attackers,
0:15:31 > 0:15:35but some mice are made of sterner stuff.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13A peacock's eye spots mimic the mouse's deadliest enemy, the owl.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19It's one of our longest-lived butterflies,
0:16:19 > 0:16:24kept safe through hibernation with its camouflage and warning colours.
0:16:27 > 0:16:33Until, with the first rays of weak spring sun, it's ready to wake.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41When you see your first butterflies, it gives you the sense that the winter's over, the spring's
0:16:41 > 0:16:45on the way, and you wake up yourself a bit after the winter.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49And you know that the summer's coming then. And it... You know, it's good.
0:16:49 > 0:16:56- Mm.- As the days lengthen and the spring sun warms the earth,
0:16:56 > 0:17:04woodland butterflies wake and prepare to make the most of Britain's often elusive summer.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15# The sun is shining where clouds have been... #
0:17:15 > 0:17:19On the bark of an oak tree, a silver-washed fritillary caterpillar,
0:17:19 > 0:17:26no bigger than a pinhead, starts an epic journey down the trunk, in search of violets.
0:17:28 > 0:17:34The snow melts from a purple emperor caterpillar, which begins to stir.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Overwintering adults emerge from hiding.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48A leaf comes to life.
0:17:48 > 0:17:55A brimstone, the butter-coloured fly that may have given all "butter flies" their name.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59And the changing colour of a speckled wood chrysalis
0:17:59 > 0:18:02means it's almost ready to emerge.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10There are a lot of people now that would look upon
0:18:10 > 0:18:15one as being a funny old romantic when you talk about these things.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18But that's because they haven't experienced it.
0:18:19 > 0:18:26Woodland butterflies, like the white admiral and silver-washed fritillary, have declined dramatically.
0:18:26 > 0:18:32They remind us that habitat isn't just lost when a building goes up or a hedgerow's ripped out.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35It also disappears with neglect.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44The heath fritillary was known as the "woodman's friend,"
0:18:44 > 0:18:48thriving where trees were cut down and light flooded in,
0:18:48 > 0:18:54allowing its food plant, common cow wheat, to grow.
0:18:54 > 0:19:02It was close to extinction, but now creates one of our biggest butterfly spectacles, thanks
0:19:02 > 0:19:08to wardens at Blean Woods in Kent, who have resurrected traditional ways of managing the woodland.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20We've seen how butterflies can warn us when wildlife habitats are disappearing,
0:19:22 > 0:19:28but butterflies are also giving us vital information about another threat to our wildlife,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33and they're doing it through moments of beauty,
0:19:33 > 0:19:34like this.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Britain's butterflies are emerging earlier.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Which means Britain is warming up.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38Their sensitivity makes butterflies incredibly valuable in tracking our changing climate.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42But what effect will a warmer Britain have on them?
0:21:42 > 0:21:47It's just what some of our sun-loving butterflies want.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52The comma and holly blue have both pushed north in the last few years.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57But this butterfly, the painted lady, demonstrates above all others
0:21:57 > 0:22:01how a warmer Britain can benefit butterflies.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06Though unlocking its mysteries took one man further than you might think...
0:22:12 > 0:22:182,500 kilometres from Britain's south coast into Morocco.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27What he found there helped to reveal how British butterflies can benefit from climate change.
0:22:30 > 0:22:37In summer, the painted lady is one of our commonest butterflies, but in winter it disappears.
0:22:41 > 0:22:49Where they go had been a mystery, but Spanish scientist Constanti Stefanescu found them.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53The first time I saw the painted lady in great numbers was in the
0:22:53 > 0:22:59gardens in Marrakech and then we crossed the Atlas and we saw hundreds and hundreds everywhere.
0:22:59 > 0:23:05Probably the most impressive sight of painted ladies I've ever seen.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11I had been looking for
0:23:11 > 0:23:17many, many years so it was the feeling of "Wow!
0:23:17 > 0:23:20"We have found what we were looking for."
0:23:29 > 0:23:36I have a feeling of happiness when I'm in the middle of a meadow.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40This is one of the most nice feelings I can have.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45This is paradise
0:23:45 > 0:23:48for me with all these painted ladies flying around.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Yeah, it is paradise.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00Constanti's discovery proved that painted ladies travel further than anyone had thought.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09I associate the painted lady with Morocco mostly, but he's always
0:24:09 > 0:24:15on the move, tracking the best places at the right moments.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18And this is what the painted lady does.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24Painted Lady caterpillars have simple tastes.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Thistles, nettles and mallows.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Common plants, found from Africa to the Arctic Circle,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35but crucially, at different times of year.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40Instead of waiting for their plants to grow, the painted lady goes
0:24:40 > 0:24:45looking for them, flying wherever its food plants are to be found.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Individuals can travel 2,500 kilometres,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56from the mountains of Morocco all the way to Britain.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04Like any nomad, they rarely pass an opportunity to refuel.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07Sugary dates from the trees,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11or for sale in local souks,
0:25:11 > 0:25:16and on flowers, briefly brought to life by the slowest moving stream -
0:25:16 > 0:25:20although feeding here has its own risks.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Many painted ladies perish on their journey,
0:26:19 > 0:26:24but some years they arrive on Britain's shores in their millions.
0:26:27 > 0:26:34For a nomadic butterfly, whose caterpillars aren't fussy eaters, climate change brings opportunities.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40Warmer weather means their food plants are found even further north.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46But for other butterflies it could spell disaster.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50And in the Scottish Highlands is a butterfly that shows us why.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54It's home to the magnificent golden eagle,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58the ptarmigan...
0:26:58 > 0:27:00..And the mountain hare.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Yet surviving here, despite the frozen winds,
0:27:05 > 0:27:09is something rarer than them all.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12A relic of the Ice Age, whose story demonstrates how
0:27:12 > 0:27:17vulnerable many butterflies could be to climate change.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21The mountain ringlet.
0:27:24 > 0:27:31Not the prettiest, but certainly the hardiest, and without doubt our hairiest butterfly.
0:27:33 > 0:27:40Dark, velvety wings absorb every scrap of sunlight and hairs help them keep warm.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42They're reluctant fliers.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47Instead, they ramble the Highlands in search of sustenance.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Their survival here depends on a special collection of mountain plants
0:28:06 > 0:28:10which are only found in this cold climate.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12As Britain warms up, the mountain ringlet is
0:28:12 > 0:28:20pushed higher and higher in search of perfect conditions, until eventually it may simply run out of mountain.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Driven off into the heavens.
0:28:30 > 0:28:37Like the mountain ringlet, many British butterflies are very particular about where they live.
0:28:37 > 0:28:43Habitat loss traps them in tiny pockets of land, where they are incredibly vulnerable.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47Three quarters of our butterflies are now in decline.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50What can be done?
0:28:55 > 0:28:59The pressure on our land is already enormous.
0:28:59 > 0:29:07After South Korea and Bangladesh, England is the most crowded country on earth.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09But cities aren't the greatest threat.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12It's agriculture.
0:29:12 > 0:29:17Intensive farming destroys the plants butterflies need.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20But there's enormous potential here to make a change
0:29:20 > 0:29:26because farmland could be the most important butterfly habitat we have.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29It can even bring butterflies back from the dead.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38The Large Blue was once extinct in Britain,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42but it relies on farm animals in a way so bizarre
0:29:42 > 0:29:44you couldn't make it up.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50Meadow ants nesting in the grass may irritate the adults,
0:29:50 > 0:29:54but are an unlikely asset for their caterpillars.
0:29:54 > 0:29:59That's because Large Blues have a rather interesting
0:29:59 > 0:30:01approach to parental care.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06Their young are adopted by ants.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12The caterpillar mimics the sound and smell of the ants' own young and,
0:30:12 > 0:30:14mistaken for a mislaid ant larva,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17is taken back to the nest by the foraging ant workers.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21But it doesn't repay the favour.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26Once underground, the caterpillar leads a predatory life,
0:30:26 > 0:30:29eating the ants' own larvae,
0:30:29 > 0:30:33until one day it's ready to change into a pupa...
0:30:34 > 0:30:40..and eventually emerges as one of our rarest butterflies.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Ants are vital to the butterfly,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47but if the grass is too long, they move out.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50So without sheep to keep the grass short, there would be no ants,
0:30:50 > 0:30:56and without the ants, the Large Blue would be lost.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01This place is a nature reserve
0:31:01 > 0:31:05and we can't turn the whole of Britain into one of those.
0:31:05 > 0:31:12But in the long term, Britain will have to produce food sustainably,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and government schemes are now encouraging farmers
0:31:15 > 0:31:18to restore intensively farmed land for wildlife.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23Farmland that encourages butterflies
0:31:23 > 0:31:27is a place of flowering meadows and field margins buzzing with life.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33Butterflies can bring back the wildlife-rich countryside we adore.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41But unless these oases are joined up,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45the butterflies trapped here will always be at risk.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47It's why butterfly conservation
0:31:47 > 0:31:51is now focused on creating a vast chain of habitats across Britain.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55But it can be slow going.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Which is why, in his frustration,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03one man has taken matters into his own hands
0:32:03 > 0:32:07and is about to launch his next attack.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19I'm certain that various factions have moved to have me arrested.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23And I have to admit, you are sacrificing a lot of lives.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28From his greenhouse nerve centre,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31Martin White meticulously plans his campaign.
0:32:37 > 0:32:38That is the spot.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45With preparations complete, it's time to gather the troops.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53So much time has been involved that there's no margin for error.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59With a last wave to Mother, Martin heads off.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22Before they started to destroy the wild flower meadows,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24I do remember that era, and to see it lost,
0:33:24 > 0:33:27it's just so exasperating and depressing.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31What can I do about it?
0:33:33 > 0:33:35And you go to these sites and you realise
0:33:35 > 0:33:37that those butterflies just aren't there any more
0:33:37 > 0:33:41and the next thing you realise is that they could be put back there.
0:33:46 > 0:33:53Martin has spent decades breeding and then releasing rare butterflies.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57No-one knows where he'll strike next.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01And what he's about to do is highly controversial.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20I remember my 2,000th introduction and it got that boring after a while
0:34:20 > 0:34:22and I just wanted that number 2,000 to come up.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26Yes, fairly obsessive.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28I would say it does help.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32Martin's impact on this region's butterflies has been enormous.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37Well, at its absolute peak, I did 48 British butterfly species in a year.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39The lawn was covered in pots,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42the path was covered in pots. It was just...
0:34:42 > 0:34:45a nightmare keeping it all running.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49A quarter of my life would be taken up either producing the butterflies
0:34:49 > 0:34:53in the first place, or actually going out, surveying the habitat,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55and of course then the next thing to do is
0:34:55 > 0:34:58to go back and check to see if they're still there or not.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18These are Marbled White caterpillars. And they don't need much.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20They'll munch happily on grass,
0:35:20 > 0:35:26and when they're ready for a change, sit patiently on the surface.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Marbled Whites are common in the South,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49but our warming climate
0:35:49 > 0:35:53is making grasslands in the Midlands more suitable.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58And Martin is helping the marbled white push north.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Martin's actions anger many.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Oh, yes, I've been arrested once.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30And I said, "Well, thank you very much, I'd love to be a martyr."
0:36:30 > 0:36:32If they're going to stick it in the national press,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35"Mr White from Worksop has been arrested
0:36:35 > 0:36:37"for liberating rare butterflies in the Worksop area",
0:36:37 > 0:36:40the press would have an absolute field day.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42I'd make them look so small and ridiculous.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Unless you actually do start
0:36:44 > 0:36:46recreating large strips of countryside for things
0:36:46 > 0:36:49to actually move up and down, it's just not going to happen.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52Martin reminds us that one person
0:36:52 > 0:36:55can make an enormous contribution to conservation.
0:36:57 > 0:37:01But how do you inspire people to care?
0:37:01 > 0:37:05One person thinks butterflies are the answer.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11This is Clive Farrell's back garden.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15He's made it one of the richest butterfly habitats in the country,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18a place to inspire the next generation of enthusiasts.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21When I was a kid, my greatest joy
0:37:21 > 0:37:23was running through a flowering meadow
0:37:23 > 0:37:27and how many city children get that opportunity?
0:37:29 > 0:37:32I think it's very important to try and get them to re-engage with the
0:37:32 > 0:37:37natural world, and if butterflies are the mechanism, then so be it.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Shall we look for some butterflies along this bank here?
0:37:40 > 0:37:45The first one to spot a blue butterfly wins a marble.
0:37:45 > 0:37:50At this age, they haven't had the chance to get jaded and cynical
0:37:50 > 0:37:53and I often feel jaded and cynical.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57But having children here, well, it's like a tonic.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- Are you allowed in?- Yeah, well, you have to ask his permission first.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03Can we go in your house, please?
0:38:03 > 0:38:07Come on, then. He's the oldest gnome in England
0:38:07 > 0:38:09and he's addicted to blackberry wine,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12and of course blackberries are wonderful for butterflies as well.
0:38:12 > 0:38:17- Do any of you believe in dragons? - Me!
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Well, you're going to have a big surprise in a minute.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Wow! Over there! Over there!
0:38:23 > 0:38:27Kay, it's the dragon. Wow, that's amazing!
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Look, if you want to stand on top of the dragon,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32you go up that bank there and you can stand on top.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35We're the dragon slayers!
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Why do you dedicate all this land just to your butterflies?
0:38:41 > 0:38:45What I would like to do is to get children interested in butterflies,
0:38:45 > 0:38:47in the hobby that's taken over my life.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50I think most gardens are a bit boring, aren't they?
0:38:50 > 0:38:53But by having dragons and other creatures,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55it makes it more interesting.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58That's the way I look at it. Shall we go over these banks?
0:38:58 > 0:39:02It's planted with wild strawberries, the food plant of a rare butterfly.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04Now you can go and pick as many as you like.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08There are days when I'm completely lost
0:39:08 > 0:39:13and I watch the butterflies flitting through the grasses,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16and those are moments of complete happiness.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19And then the bank manager comes into my mind.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21HE LAUGHS
0:39:21 > 0:39:24It's complete financial lunacy!
0:39:25 > 0:39:30Impressive as it is, Clive's back garden was just the start.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34On the outskirts of London, he's risking millions on his belief
0:39:34 > 0:39:36that butterflies hold the key
0:39:36 > 0:39:39to reconnecting Britain's children with a love of nature.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46We've destroyed 98% of our rich flowering meadows.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51The good news is that it is possible to turn the clock back.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54If we can create Hertfordshire's richest flowering meadow
0:39:54 > 0:39:59on the outskirts of London and introduce London's children
0:39:59 > 0:40:01to these wonderful areas,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04then I think I would have done something worthwhile.
0:40:04 > 0:40:10This is butterfly conservation on an industrial scale.
0:40:10 > 0:40:15Water containing millions of flower seeds is sprayed across the land.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Even in places like this, we can heal the land,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22heal it with flowers and grasses and butterflies.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25The butterflies will be the messengers,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28and hopefully we'll listen to the message
0:40:28 > 0:40:31and do something about the destruction that's still going on.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Clive knows that if you get the habitat right,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38you can turn the clock back.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44But when it comes to protecting Britain's threatened landscapes,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46others have to be inspired to care.
0:40:46 > 0:40:51And to do that, Clive needs nothing more than butterflies
0:40:51 > 0:40:56and the magic of childhood.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59They're the custodians of the world,
0:40:59 > 0:41:04the wardens of the future, if you like, so if they can be persuaded
0:41:04 > 0:41:07to conserve the last little scraps of flowering meadows
0:41:07 > 0:41:11and coppiced woodland that used to cover the British Isles,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13that is very important.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29Of all the visits, it's the children that
0:41:29 > 0:41:32I enjoy the most, and I think they get the most out of it, as well.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35And they're not allowed to send a thank you letter.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40I tell them I want more ideas, and we get some pretty amazing ideas.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44What I want is a billionaire big brother who's got some spare money
0:41:44 > 0:41:48in his back pocket and says "Yes, Clive, just do it all."
0:41:48 > 0:41:51- Who would like to see the island of dreams?- Me, me.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53All right, you follow me, then.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01I'm not going to be the last one!
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Managing Britain's woodland and farmland for butterflies
0:42:07 > 0:42:10can preserve the countryside we love,
0:42:10 > 0:42:14and butterflies can inspire the next generation to protect it.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20But if you still have doubts about whether butterflies can make Britain
0:42:20 > 0:42:25a better place, then you need look no further than the humble caterpillar.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29Because if there's one thing we've learnt from them,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33it's that change is possible.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41This is a Brimstone.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44It emerged from an egg, a few weeks ago,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46but now it's ready for a change.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52First it spins a silken pad,
0:42:52 > 0:42:56a place to anchor hooks on the rear of its body.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04In a move to rival a contortionist,
0:43:04 > 0:43:07it passes strands of silk behind itself,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11creating a girdle to support it through the change to come.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27With anchor and lines secure,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30the transformation can take place.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41Caterpillars are little more than stomachs on legs.
0:43:41 > 0:43:47But that body has served its purpose, and can be discarded
0:43:47 > 0:43:50in favour of another.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54The caterpillar's head is about to split wide open.
0:43:54 > 0:43:59And when it does, something very different will emerge.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06A chrysalis.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11The caterpillar was an eating machine,
0:44:11 > 0:44:15an identity rolled up like a sock and discarded.
0:44:17 > 0:44:23This body is for something different, an agent of near-miraculous change,
0:44:23 > 0:44:27and one responsible for making butterflies powerful symbols
0:44:27 > 0:44:30of hope and transformation.
0:44:31 > 0:44:37This is a sign that something beautiful is surely on its way.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44The chrysalis is one of the most enduring symbols
0:44:44 > 0:44:45in the natural world,
0:44:45 > 0:44:47and to understand its power,
0:44:47 > 0:44:51there's no better place to look than our cities.
0:44:54 > 0:45:00These are places that can seem devoid of the beauty a butterfly brings,
0:45:00 > 0:45:06but where you can really begin to understand the hold that butterflies have on us.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11One man who understands their power is Nick Walker,
0:45:11 > 0:45:16one of the world's most influential street artists.
0:45:16 > 0:45:22Using, you know, the theme of a butterfly, it conjures a lot of imagery for me.
0:45:23 > 0:45:31They symbolise a lot of things as well, so that's always good with creating paintings with stories.
0:45:31 > 0:45:37And, yeah, it's perfect. It's a perfect symbol to kind of play with in general.
0:45:37 > 0:45:42With butterflies, you know, they've a beautiful symmetry,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46and within that symmetry, you know, you can always
0:45:46 > 0:45:49play with inside the symmetry.
0:45:49 > 0:45:53It's, I guess, distorting its beauty in a way.
0:45:53 > 0:45:59Something so beautiful, you know, you can actually kind of bring
0:45:59 > 0:46:03a sinister element to it, which is something, you know, I always kind of like doing.
0:46:03 > 0:46:10It is a labour of love and when you are cutting out a stencil it is almost like you have time to think.
0:46:10 > 0:46:16I've always been intrigued about kind of,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19you know, the longevity of a butterfly in general.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23It's like, you know, they only, some of them only last a week.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29It's crazy for something so kind of beautiful to actually sort of only
0:46:29 > 0:46:31be around for such a short amount of time.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34It's a little bit like street art.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37You know, once a piece goes up there's no telling
0:46:37 > 0:46:43kind of when it's going to be painted over or destroyed.
0:46:43 > 0:46:48You plan it out and then it's literally like proper black op.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52Go in, do it, get out, done.
0:46:52 > 0:46:57The subject matter of the butterfly, I mean, they symbolise things but
0:46:57 > 0:46:59they make you think. Your like, "oh, wow!
0:46:59 > 0:47:04"why did that just land on me?" Or when you're living in
0:47:04 > 0:47:09a predominantly kind of like big, concrete, grey environment
0:47:09 > 0:47:14and you see a butterfly kind of flutter by, and it's like, "whoa",
0:47:14 > 0:47:22you know, something so small and so delicate amongst this kind of mayhem of the city and the world, and the
0:47:22 > 0:47:25super hyper-fast kind of existences we live.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30All of a sudden all that disappears because there's a butterfly there, do you know what I mean?
0:47:30 > 0:47:33It's one of those kind of things. That's the way I've always seen it.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57Images of butterflies are so important to some
0:47:57 > 0:48:02that they decide to carry them with them for life.
0:48:04 > 0:48:09This is Britain's biggest tattoo convention,
0:48:09 > 0:48:13and butterflies are everywhere.
0:48:13 > 0:48:20Ask people why they've chosen them and the answers are thoughtful, considered,
0:48:20 > 0:48:21and remarkably similar.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27I wanted to mark a life-changing experience.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30A rite of passage.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34Leaving a long-term partner.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Starting a new job.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Becoming a woman.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44Butterflies are powerful symbols.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47Undeniably beautiful,
0:48:47 > 0:48:54delicate, yet determined, transient and transformative.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57And what's so important about these butterflies
0:48:57 > 0:49:01is that each and every one
0:49:01 > 0:49:04tells a life story.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Stories so important to these women,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12that they have shed blood,
0:49:12 > 0:49:15sweat
0:49:15 > 0:49:17and tears
0:49:17 > 0:49:19to remember them.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30Butterflies will always find a home in our cities,
0:49:33 > 0:49:38because the caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell, peacock,
0:49:38 > 0:49:42red admiral and comma all feed on nettles.
0:49:50 > 0:49:58Camouflage is for caterpillars that can't handle themselves, and peacocks hang out in threatening groups.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04Predators can't miss them, but decide they are best avoided.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09Their impressive spines ward off attackers.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13And those of the small tortoiseshell can pierce even human skin.
0:50:16 > 0:50:22But it's not just our common butterflies that find a home in urban areas.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27There are places just beyond the barbed wire and no trespassing signs
0:50:27 > 0:50:31that are vital for some of Britain's most threatened species.
0:50:35 > 0:50:42This railway yard near Wakefield was amongst the busiest in Europe.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45But there's something special about these brown field sites.
0:50:45 > 0:50:50The poor soil keeps aggressive plants in check.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55And bare ground warms quickly in the sun, encouraging wild flowers.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01It makes them an important home for some of our most threatened butterflies.
0:51:01 > 0:51:08That's why, hidden in the clinker, you'll find an unassuming, passionate lover.
0:51:10 > 0:51:17The grayling isn't much to look at, but it's in possession of a powerful aphrodisiac.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21And this male is just hotting up.
0:51:21 > 0:51:27Most butterflies open their wings for warmth, but graylings angle their body to the sun.
0:51:29 > 0:51:36Hot-blooded males buzz any brown object, and if it's a female, courtship commences.
0:51:49 > 0:51:54Jerking his wings upwards, he proudly reveals his assets.
0:51:54 > 0:52:01The grayling's no peacock, but he still struts proudly, flashing his orange eyespots.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09Finally, with quivering excitement, he readies his secret weapon.
0:52:09 > 0:52:16On the male's wings are scent glands, which produce an aphrodisiac described as "love dust".
0:52:16 > 0:52:19With a deep bow he anoints the female's sensitive antennae.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Who could resist?
0:52:30 > 0:52:35The dull sounding grayling, dingy and grizzled skippers
0:52:35 > 0:52:39might not inspire the excitement of Britain's more colourful butterflies,
0:52:39 > 0:52:46but they're increasingly rare, threatened by our desire to develop these industrial sites.
0:52:47 > 0:52:55Places like these can be incredibly valuable for wildlife, but they also have a historical significance.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57Perhaps they should be left as areas
0:52:57 > 0:53:03where we celebrate both, because when this place is developed the grayling
0:53:03 > 0:53:10and another link with Britain's proud industrial past will be lost.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41What goes on inside the chrysalis is the stuff of science fiction.
0:53:41 > 0:53:46A real-life Star Trek transporter.
0:53:46 > 0:53:54The caterpillar's body is broken down and its molecules reassembled as something else entirely.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06Digestive juices turn the caterpillar into a nutrient-rich soup.
0:54:06 > 0:54:12But floating in the fluid are special groups of cells,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15and around them, a butterfly body is slowly built.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26Throughout history, few other animals have had such enduring appeal.
0:54:28 > 0:54:33But what makes butterflies unique is that, as well as being objects
0:54:33 > 0:54:38of aesthetic beauty, their life cycle gives them great symbolic power.
0:54:41 > 0:54:47They've come to represent beauty, the soul, freedom,
0:54:47 > 0:54:51elegance, and the ephemeral nature of life.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02But, when it comes to saving our countryside,
0:55:02 > 0:55:06the most valuable lesson we can learn from butterflies
0:55:06 > 0:55:08is that change is possible.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42As dawn breaks over London,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45the city wakes,
0:55:45 > 0:55:50and the people of Notting Hill prepare for the biggest street celebration in Europe.
0:55:54 > 0:56:01Nothing else in Britain unites so many people of such different ages and cultures.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10But it's no surprise that butterflies are here.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14Their appeal is universal.
0:56:14 > 0:56:22100 million years after they first adorned the world, they are as captivating as ever.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26And although Britain's butterflies have never been so threatened,
0:56:26 > 0:56:30they still have a message for us -
0:56:32 > 0:56:36that beauty can be found in the simplest things.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45That anything is possible.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50And managing our land for butterflies doesn't just help them,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54it can slowly transform Britain into something that many may
0:56:54 > 0:56:58distantly remember and the young have never known.
0:57:01 > 0:57:06A Britain of colourful fields and flower-filled meadows.
0:57:09 > 0:57:15Where the hedgerows are alive with wildlife, and sunlight dances in coppiced woodland clearings.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21A place where the traditions of our past are upheld
0:57:21 > 0:57:26and our heritage remembered.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28And, if that isn't enough?
0:57:28 > 0:57:31Well, butterflies make us smile.
0:57:31 > 0:57:36And life is hard enough without a little happiness.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43So find your own butterfly obsession,
0:57:43 > 0:57:48and thank these people for their passion,
0:57:48 > 0:57:50their energy,
0:57:50 > 0:57:52and even their eccentricity.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55Because without them
0:57:55 > 0:57:57and without the butterflies they love,
0:57:57 > 0:58:01Britain would be a poorer place.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:14 > 0:58:18E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk