Draycott Sleights () is a

biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

at Draycott in the Mendip Hills,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, notified in 1987. The name is pronounced locally as "Slates", presumably a variation on the Saxon word Slade meaning amongst other things hillside, rather than in the same manner as the Yorkshire place of the same spelling. The

Somerset Wildlife Trust Somerset Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Somerset, England. The trust, which was established in 1964, aims to safeguard the county's wildlife and wild places for this and future generations and manages almost 80 nature ...

reserve lies south east of

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and t ...

. It includes Draycott Sleights, , and Draycott Housegrounds, . Draycott Sleights is part of the Draycott Sleights Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Draycott Housegrounds is a County Wildlife Site. The entire reserve is within the Mendips Scarp Prime Biodiversity Area (PBA) and Mendip Hills

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

(AONB). Draycott Sleights supports extensive areas of traditionally managed species-rich unimproved

calcareous grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. Plants on calcareous grassland are typically short and hardy, and include grasses and herbs such as clover. ...

. Additional interest lies in a rich invertebrate fauna. The site is situated on steep south-west facing slopes of the Mendip Hills and ranges in altitude from to . 165 species of flowering plant have been recorded. The varied topography together with the widespread scrub provide a number of locations with ideal conditions for invertebrates supporting a rich

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

fauna typical of unimproved calcareous grassland. 32 species of resident breeding butterfly have been recorded. The occurrence of Adonis blue (''Lysandra bellargus''), silver-studded blue (''Plebejus argus'') and

small blue The small blue (''Cupido minimus'') is a Palearctic butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Despite its common name, it is not particularly blue. The male has some bluish suffusion at the base of its upper wings but is mostly dark brown like the fem ...

(''Cupido minimus'') is of particular interest. Two nationally scarce species of fly, '' Symphoromyia

immaculata The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth wh ...

'' and '' Bombylius canescens'' and one nationally scarce species of

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

, '' Myrmica schencki'' have been recorded for this site.

References

{{SSSIs Somerset biological Mendip Hills Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1987 Nature reserves in Somerset Cheddar, Somerset