Record numbers of eggs of the rare brown hairstreak butterfly have been found in south-west Wales after landowners stopped flailing hedges every year. But when land managers and farmers mechanically cut hedges every autumn, thousands of the eggs are unknowingly destroyed. Conservationists have now persuaded landowners to cut hedges in a more gentle rotation, with sections left uncut for up to three years, to enable more eggs to survive over winter. View image in fullscreen A tiny white egg laid by a brown hairstreak butterfly on a stem of blackthorn. The lovely brown hairstreak is an indicator of getting that balance right.”