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BNPs.co.uk (01202 558833)<br />
Pic: JaneRyan/NWT/BNPS<br />
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Hickling Estate Worker Jon Wheeler at the site where the caterpillars were stolen from.<br />
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Police are investigating after some exceptionally rare caterpillars that turn into Britain's largest butterfly were stolen from a nature reserve. <br />
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Around 20 swallowtail butterfly caterpillars that were feeding on the scarce milk parsley plant were swiped from Hickling Broad in Norfolk.<br />
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Brazen thieves uprooted five of the internationally protected plants in order to acquire the caterpillars and subsequent Swallowtail butterflies, which are prized by collectors. <br />
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Killed and mounted examples of the beautiful creature can be worth £100 while some unlawful hobbyists seek them for breeding because of their rarity.