The Large Blue butterfly Maculinea arion was discovered in Britain about 200 years ago, and has since been recorded from nearly 100 sites. It generally flew in low numbers inmost locatlities, and, apart from two brief periods of expansion, experienced two centuries of almost continuous decline. The last major phase of local extinction occurred in 1955-63, leaving three or four small populations that survived until 1970, including one that lingered on until 1979.
