Grayling (Hipparchia semele)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - butterfly > Butterfly |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Hipparchia semele |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Fox & Dennis, 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | GB Red List (Fox et al. 2022): EN. Statistically significant 60% decline in abundance since 1976 and a 17% short-term (10 year 2010-2019) decline; 89% long-term decline in distribution since 1975 and a 37% short-term decline (Fox et al. 2023) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Mainly confined to coastal habitats (having disappeared from many of its inland sites due to changes in land-use), where it occurs on well-drained sites in short, open grassland with sparse vegetation and patches of bare ground. The larvae feed on various grasses, but especially fine-leaved species. Current habitat management is not reversing declines. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Maintain availability of open, early successional habitat. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Increase advice and support to landowners, advisors, land managers on appropriate management to increase early successional, low growing vegetation on inland heathland sites and chalk grassland where the species is extant and if extinct, where there is potential to be restored.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 6-10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: Inland lowland heathland and chalk grassland sites
Comments: Time scale, means that action could take up to 10 years to achieve as number of sites is large
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Review the abundance trends on different habitat types to understand if there is a pattern of decline related to a particular habitat type and/or region
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.