Why Did the Large Blue Become Extinct in Britain?

In 1979 the Nature Conservancy Council revealed that the large blue butterfly Maculinea arion was probably extinct in Britain, despite much research and valiant efforts to save it. The author, a member of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, who since 1972 has been engaged full time on the research and conservation work for the butterfly, tells the story as it is now known.