Butterfly that mimics ants gives conservation clue

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A blue butterfly died out in Britain 30 years ago because of disruptions to a life cycle that includes pretending to be an ant, according to a study published Tuesday that points to smarter ways to protect wildlife.

OSLO (Reuters) - A blue butterfly died out in Britain 30 years ago because of disruptions to a life cycle that includes pretending to be an ant, according to a study published Tuesday that points to smarter ways to protect wildlife.

Research into the large blue butterfly -- now successfully re-introduced to Britain from Sweden -- hints at how governments can use science to achieve U.N. goals of slowing a loss of animal and plant species, scientists said.

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For decades, over-zealous human collectors were blamed for dwindling numbers of the large blue until scientists found that wrong-minded conservation had let grass grow taller and made soils unsuitable for the red ants that its caterpillars eat.

"We discovered that the butterfly was much more specialized than anyone had thought," said Jeremy Thomas of Oxford University who led a study with British colleagues published in the journal Science.

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