Ringlet Butterfly

Alex Cagan | Drawing | Curious Nature

This velvety chocolate brown butterfly is unmistakeable when resting on a leaf or flower because of the ring patterns on its wings. Numbers of the ringlet butterfly have increased around 400% in the last 50 years, whereas many other UK butterflies have declined. A reference genome for the species will be a useful tool to compare with other butterflies to understand how it has managed to go against the trend of declining numbers.