Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?

A photo-journal by Guy Padfield of a plucky Swiss youngster..


This is him on 11th August 2011, in my
local woods in Switzerland:

I found several eggs, on different bushes, but this is the only egg I found on the branch where I subsequently found Aurelian.

Here he is on 28th September, enjoying what was still hot, summer sun:

By 30th October he was looking hoary and his resting leaf was not looking so appetising. You can see lots of silk where he has been travelling to and from his leaf.

When I visited him just a few days later, on 2nd November, he was nowhere to be seen. I searched diligently and found him on an adjoining branch, hibernating, having crawled about 2m or perhaps a little more, first back towards the trunk and then out again. He had taken up position on a joint, looking just like a bud.

This was my first hibernating picture of him , on 2nd November last year:

Here he is on 7th January this year:

24th January:

4th February (he’s on one of those branches, somewhere):

11th Feb:

… and finally, 21st February: