A LARGE fire which is thought to have been started intentionally has threatened a rare butterfly and destroyed part of a protected natural area.

The blaze at Kingcraig Point, west of Earlsferry in Fife, damaged a beautiful stretch of the coast, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said.

The area is part of the Firth of Forth Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its ideal habitat for the Northern Brown Argus. This butterfly is only found in five other sites in Scotland, all of which are also protected. Kingcraig Point is the only site in Fife.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service believe the fire, on October 2, was deliberate. It is thought that bales of straw on nearby fields were set alight. The wind then carried embers to the coast and ignited over six acres of dry grassland slope by the Fife Coastal Path.

SNH said it coincided with the most vulnerable stage in the Northern Brown Argus's life cycle as the caterpillars were going in to hibernation on the ground below the vegetation. Next year's population may have been seriously affected with many caterpillars dying in the fire.

The butterfly relies solely on a plant called common rock-rose which carpets the slopes at Kingcraig in the summer months.

Gavin Johnson, SNH's operation officer for designated sites, said: "It will be an anxious wait to see how the butterflies and the common rock-rose recover. We hope the fire damage will not seriously impact the future of this population of Northern Brown Argus butterflies, but there could be disastrous results for this rare butterfly."