The Purple Butterfly Emperor "officially" returns to Norfolk

Experts confirmed that the second largest British butterfly returned to Norfolk after almost half a century.

The Purple Emperor was declared extinct in the county in the early 1970s and has dropped 31% in the UK over the last 10 years.

"With (changes) in the management of our forests, we create the habitat necessary for the survival of the butterflies," said Kiri Stuart-Clarke of Butterfly Conservation.

The county's last known breeding colony was at Foxley Woods near Bawdeswell. In recent years, however, she has been regularly observed near the coast in places such as Sheringham Park and Beeston Common.

It has a wing span of up to 8,4 cm, the second largest after the Norfolk swallowtail butterfly.

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