THE BUTTERFLY HANDBOOK
Page 64

If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
This publication was jointly funded by English Nature and the Highways Agency and gives advice on mitigating the impact of roads on butterfly populations. Roadside verges not only act as an important habitat for several scarce species of butterfly, but also as 'flyways' linking patches of similar habitat that encourages population centres to mix and thus keep the genetic pool healthy and viable in case of local extinction.
The handbook looks at the positive and negative effects of roads on butterfly populations; sets out how road design and building can be sympathetic to butterfly populations; explains how sites can be evaluated as to their suitability for butterflies; informs which species of wildflower should be planted to encourage populations to become established; and lists the general management principles of existing roads for the wellbeing of butterflies.
A case study in the handbook explains the work carried out on the A30 Bodmin to Indian Queens improvement scheme to safeguard the Marsh Fritillary butterfly populations along its length.