In the wild, most surviving larvae have moved from their hibernating positions to align themselves next to a swelling bud. They're not very clever at picking the right bud, and often line up against a slow bud when there's a bursting bud nearby, or even next to a dead bud. Perhaps they're feeling sleepy, or are in no real hurry as they need to change colour first. The operative word here is 'surviving' as predation levels were exactly the same this winter as last. British tits have a lot to answer for, and Purple People should not tolerate tit boxes in Emperor woods.
Here's Lot's Wife, photoed yesterday, who's featured several times on this blog asleep in a scar on a stem - grey on grey.
Meanwhile, back at home, eight of my 10 captive larvae have moved up on to buds, leaving two still hibernating low down - but the sleeve is in quite a cool and shady spot. All look healthy (but they can shrivvel up suddenly at this time of year).
And Brother Neil and I saw two Large Tortoiseshell on the Isle of Wight last week... Now, that's a fine insect, worthy of sitting on the right hand side of His Imperial Majesty.
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