2013 Kicks Off!

Stupendous start to the 2013 Purple Emperor season!  I found a new hibernating larva in Savernake Forest, whilst checking known larvae.  The new one, high on a known breeding tree (used 3 out of the last 4 years) was found after I spotted a pair of old seat leaves dangling in the air, still attached by larval silk. 

This was about 5m up on an outer branch, out of reach.  The larva was then found by scanning with binoculars. 

Note that it is unlikely that iris will emerge in anything other than low numbers this year, so we must again aim for quality rather than quantity...