The discovery in Fermanagh of a tiny rare butterfly, which was previously thought to be extinct across Northern Ireland, is a heartening development.
A environmental surveyor came across the Small Blue - or Cupido minimus - on May 31, fully 16 years after its last sighting, thanks to what is regarded as a mixture of careful land management and the recent good weather.
The loss of any endangered species is always a major environmental blow, and there were fears that an important member of the butterfly family would never be seen again in one of its long established locations.
All those involved in preserving the special sites in a sustainable way which facilitated the revival of the Small Blue deserve enormous credit.
