Silver washed fritillaries mating

These are very large and impressive butterflies belonging to the family of Nymphalidae  There are four different species of Fritillaries in Ireland and the Marsh Fritillary is the most rarest butterfly of all across Europe and it is listed under Annex ll of  the EU Habitats Directive. Habitat destruction and change of land use is responsible for their downfall. Despite this piece of legislation however little to nothing has been done by the Irish government to prevent their decline as law enforcement is completely incompetent.