Work is underway to help a rare butterfly take flight in Denbighshire.

Denbighshire County Council’s Local Provenance Tree Nursery at St Asaph is giving a helping hand to an under-threat tree that provides vital food for a rare butterfly.

The Council’s Biodiversity team recently collected seeds from Wych Elms growing at Loggerheads County Park to grow at the tree nursery. These will be eventually planted out at the Green Gates Nature Reserve development next to the tree nursery.

This work and other projects at the site to protect local tree and wildflower species is funded by Welsh Government through the Local Places for Nature grant as part of the Council’s work with the Local Nature Partnership.

Wych Elms are under threat from Dutch elms disease, with many mature trees cut down due to its impact, reducing the growth and spread of younger trees.

This tree is the larval food-plant of the rare White-Letter Hairstreak Butterfly, which was recorded at Loggerheads some years back but has remained scarce in the county.

The butterfly is reliant on the unopened flower buds of the Wych Elm for food to survive.

Sam Brown, Tree Nursery Assistant, explained: “The Wych Elms we have planted from seed at the nursery have grown really well. Its numbers have declined over the years due to Dutch elms disease and a reluctance to replant the tree.

“However, the Wych Elm is such an important source of food for the White-Letter Hairstreak Butterfly, without them the butterfly would become extinct. People don't plant Elms anymore because Dutch Elm disease kills them before maturity. The butterfly does not need mature Elms, but just young ones that are old enough flower to provide them with food.

“What we have grown here, we can add to hedgerows to maintain their height, reduce the impact of Dutch elms disease and encourage flowering for many years before reaching maturity.

“This tree is a perfect example of how important it is to try and reverse the loss of trees and plants locally as they all play their part in providing a vital food source for insects and animals, the less we have around the county, the more at risk our local nature becomes.”

Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport and Council Biodiversity Champion, said: “Our Biodiversity team are working hard to protect many species that have become rare.

“This fantastic effort will not only help the White-Letter Hairstreak Butterfly recover in our county, but it will also give our future communities a slice of nature from the past back to enjoy while outdoors.”