Small blue butterfly at Aldbury Nowers Nature Reserve
Britain's tiniest resident butterfly, the small blue, has returned for the second year running to a nature reserve in Hertfordshire.
Staff at Aldbury Nowers Nature Reserve, near Tring, have reported several sightings of the rare creature.
Prior to 2010, the small blue had been extinct in the county for eight years.
Wildlife Trust reserves officer Paul Thrush hopes the return will mean a breeding population being established at the reserve.
"Thanks to our ongoing management work, the chalk grassland habitat is slowly recovering at Aldbury Nowers.
"We carried out a big restoration project here in 2008 and now the butterflies are starting to reap the rewards," said Mr Thrush.
"To see the small blue here again is fantastic news."
The reserve is home to a number of vulnerable butterfly species with at least 25 species inhabiting the area.