Last updated 05:33, Friday, 25 July 2008

Cumbria is famous for the diversity of its scenery and wildlife. Many of its special plants and animals are only here because of the relatively undeveloped nature of many parts of the county.

Framed: EB Ford’s collection of marsh fritillary butterflies

Over the years however, wild places have shrunk in size and number – and some species have been brought to the verge of extinction.

Such has been the fate of the marsh fritillary butterfly, which had virtually disappeared from the wild by 2005.

Precious evidence of its native populations survives in museum collections, mainly as a result of activities of collectors in the distant past. Such material now forms a useful resource for future research.

The marsh fritillary specimens shown here form part of the work of EB Ford, the famously eccentric Oxford Don who carried out pioneering work on the genetics of evolution. His studies on local populations of this highly colonial butterfly formed part of his researches in the 1930s.

Ford was the brilliant son of the Rev HD Ford, the rector of Thursby – himself a very accomplished amateur entomologist.

As a result of work by Butterfly Conservation, intensive captive rearing has enabled last survivors from wild local populations to be bred and released into habitats specially managed to match the conditions the butterfly needs.

There is now hope that the marsh fritillary may remain on the list of Cumbria’s wildlife treasures.

In the free lunchtime lecture on Tuesday, August 5 at Tullie House, natural history curator Stephen Hewitt gives a ‘guided tour’ of the riches of Cumbria wildlife habitats and species.