Wall (Lasiommata megera)
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: | Lasiommata megera |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1767) |
| 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 88% decline in abundance since 1976 and a 36% short-term (10 year 2010-2019) decline; 85% long-term decline in distribution since 1975 and a 31% short-term decline (Fox et al. 2023) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Wall has been considered widespread but now less common species of short open grassland with patches of bare ground such as coastal cliffs, dunes, disturbed land (such as old quarries and railway land), grassy farm tracks and some arable field margins. The caterpillars feed on various grasses. The decline of this species has been particularly severe inland with extinctions occurring at many sites in central southern England and causes of decline are unknown. |
| 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: | Low - Climate change |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Reasons are unclear due to the rapid decline experienced by this species, suspected to be climate change. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake further scientific research to potential drivers of change and the role of climate change.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
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.