Briefly, as I'm too tired. A pair joined at 4.05pm on the shady leeward side of a feeder oak, just 25' up, after meeting in flight. No courtship (he didn't even ask her name...).
They remained together, motionless, wings closed, for a marathon 4 hours and 2 minutes. The average duration prior to this observation was 3 hours 42 mins, from a sample of 19 pairings (now 20). Gentlemen of England, Ladies even, we are outdone, by a butterfly...
We managed to show them off - and a lot more - to one of Knepp's famous Purple Emperor Safaris (estab. 2014) -
All previous pairings I've seen have been in the tops of tall trees. Really good to see them so low down. At one point I saw 6 males and 2 females in a vista by that feeder tree.
Onward!
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