Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Sissinghurst Comes Out...

This time last year I turned up iris in Scotney Woods, Lamberhurst, Kent.  Today I managed to see two males briefly in Roundhill Wood, Sissinghurst, just before it clouded up.  There must be a very small colony there, as there's only a scatter of sallows, though the quality is high.  My guess is that the butterfly is quite widespread in the High Weald, occurring mainly in small colonies. 

Got back to Knepp, in West Sussex, at 6.15, for the last half hour of activity (the butterfly often goes to bed around 7pm); in time to see a male feeding for 5 mins on a small sap bleed high up on a tall oak 


This photo shows that adults feeding on sap are easily missed...

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