A long-lost species of butterfly has made a welcome return to the wild in Greater Manchester after an absence of more than 150 years.
The Manchester Argus, also known as the large heath butterfly, was once a common sight fluttering above meadows and mosslands, but the destruction of land for agriculture led to their disappearance across the region in the 19th century.
As those wet mosses dried, the butterfly's food and pollen plants perished too.
Just a few small isolated populations remained in other parts of the country.
But thanks to the work of conservationists over the course of a year, 45 of the rare butterflies are now making a summer return to a peatland area of Astley Moss, between Salford and Wigan.
Conservationists from Chester Zoo and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) teamed up to mastermind their return.
The UK is estimated to have lost nearly 20 per cent of all butterflies over the last 40 years, with experts hailing the return of the Argus a huge wildlife development.
The M.E.N. told last year how egg-bearing female butterflies were taken to Chester Zoo from Winmarleigh Moss in Lancashire.
A team of four specialist invertebrate keepers then spent a year caring for and breeding the butterflies.
Bespoke enclosures for egg laying were created.
The caterpillars were reared in a special behind-the-scenes breeding facility.
The zoo said 45 pupae were involved in total.
The process involves the pupae being placed in special protected tents then released after their transformation into butterflies.
Around 20 butterflies have already been released, with 25 more due to take flight once more in coming weeks.
Heather Prince, part of the zoo's invertebrate team, said "Breeding and rearing butterflies in an incredibly delicate process that requires a fine balance of conditions at each part of their lifecycle.
"Countless hours have been spent inside our specialised breeding centre nurturing the tiny eggs, rearing the caterpillars and caring for their host plants as well as monitoring their final pupation period throughout the winter months.
"Butterflies have undergone a huge decline in the last 40 years in the UK, with more than 20 per cent disappearing altogether as a result of habitat loss.
"So, it is incredibly rewarding to see large heath butterflies fluttering around in their new home and know that we've contributed to bringing them back from extinction in this area."
It's thought the main threat to the large heath butterfly in the UK is loss of the habitat which the species relies on to thrive, including peatland and boggy areas.
A 2019 State of Nature report revealed that 41 per cent of all UK species have declined and that at least one in ten now face extinction – with butterflies and moths suffering sharp declines of 17 per cent and 25 per cent respectively.
The team at The Lancashire Wildlife Trust have spent years restoring specially chosen sites to their former glory and a handful of areas are now at a stage where they can support new populations of large heath butterflies once again.
Jo Kennedy, Great Manchester Wetlands Project Co-ordinator at Lancashire Wildlife Trust, added: "Across our region we have lost 98 per cent of our lowland raised bogs, creating a huge hole in our biodiversity.
"To function as a healthy ecosystem, we need a tapestry of different and connected habitats each supporting a variety of plants and animals.
"Boggy, healthy peatlands not only support that precious biodiversity, but also provide a vital natural resource in the fight against climate change.
"Healthy peatlands store huge amounts of carbon, but as soon as they are damaged this carbon is released into the atmosphere contributing to greenhouse gas emissions."
