The choice of oviposition sites in woodland by the Duke of Burgundy butterfly Hamearis lucina in England

The Duke of Burgundy butterfly Hamearis lucina has suffered a rapid decline in Britain in recent decades as a result of habitat change. Whilst the larval food plants, Primula spp., are common in Britain, the ovipositing female butterfly requires exacting standards of shade, plant size and structure of the surrounding vegetation. This paper attempts to quantify the requirements of the species in woodland and results suggest that a major requirement is for an early, but not the earliest, successional stage of vegetation structure.