London: A butterfly not seen in Britain for 60 years has arrived on the country’s east coast.
There have been ten sightings of yellow-legged tortoiseshells from Lincolnshire to Kent in the past week. They thrive in Asia and eastern Europe and are thought to have migrated to Britain on easterly winds. A specimen found in Kent in 1953 was thought to have been a solo visitor.
With a wingspan of just over 2in (6cm) it is about a third bigger than the native small tortoiseshell.
