Tues June 16th: Outgunned, by the Lady!

Not too much happening on the Purple front today, on this the opening day of the old coarse fishing season.

At Knepp, no big emergence yet, and none recorded feeding down on the tracks again (but the tracks are all dry and devoid of cowpats etc.). 

Males were seen sallow searching (for females, and female pupae) for the first time this year.

Instead, we had a significant influx of Painted Ladies, including this lovely female - 

For an hour around noon, Ladies were moving due north at an impressive rate.  

This is good news, as male immigrant Ladies can be highly territorial, setting up territories in canopy gaps from mid-afternoon - and sparring off with Enperors. Immigrant Lady males are the only butterfly in the UK which can compete with Emperor males on territory, so expect some good dog fights up in the canopy.

I'm expecting a good emergence of Emperors soon - Big Bang (the main emergence) must be imminent.    

 

Mon June 15th: Herself Appears!

Sunshine on a SE breeze (it was NW yesterday).

A steady emergence of Emperors at Knepp. I walked the PE transect, and counted 13, which is good for so early in the flight season. The tally included the first female of the year, here and nationally. This may be the earliest an Empress has ever been seen in the UK...

None was seen down on the tracks feeding, but the tracks have dried up and there was no dung on them today (it would help if the cattle wandered down during the night...).  

A nice hatch of Purple Hairstreaks today, a freshly emerged Peacock (already!) and another influx of Painted Ladies and Red Ads. 

Vicious Thug of the Day goes to this male, who chased off a Blue Tit and a White Stork -

Elsewhere, the first Emperors were seen today in Bernwood Forest, Oxon (Waterperry Wood).

Onwards, and Upwards...

 

Knepp Sunday June 14th

The wind did drop today and the sun shone unblemished until after mid-afternoon, when it became a trifle too cloudy.

There was no mass emergence today, just a doubling of sightings, from six yesterday to 12 today. And just the one male seen feeding down on the tracks.

But it is still very early days, as illustrated by this photo of a larva starting the process of pupation there this afternoon -

S/he is unlikely to emerge before July 7th. It may just be that there'll be a longer than usual emergence period this year, but we'll see...

It's still very early days everywhere. As far as I know only Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire have declared themselves in purpuratum so far.  

 

Knepp Kicks Off!

I saw 6 Purple Emperors at Knepp this afternoon. The first was this freshly emerged male, who attacked me on my bike, before settling to feed on the track for 20 minutes - 

 He attracted quite a crowd of admirers. Here's his underside -

Most interesting was this male, a distinctive specimen missing one wing tip. He was seen and photoed at 12.15 yesterday, near Patrick's Tree (for those who know Knepp) - Knepp's first sighting of the year. In mid-afternoon today I found him on territory up in the oaks half a mile to the west, near Green Lane Pond (ditto) having flown into the breeze - 

This counts as a Mark & Recapture record! The other fragments of M&R records I have suggest that young males are highly mobile, but old males can be sedentary.  

Elsewhere, first Emperors of the year seen today in Alice Holt Forest, but none today in Savernake.

We need the wind to drop...

We're Off!

Welcome to the 2026 Purple Emperor season, which opened officially this afternoon at Bookham Common, Surrey, with these two males cavorting about -

Photo  Colin Kemp

Congrats to Colin Kemp, and indeed to Bookham. This record equals the official all-time record for the earliest Emperor, set by boys from Marlborough College way back in 1893! 

'In my beginning is my end...' 

 

Starting This Weekend

is the 2026 Purple Emperor season...

This pupa, photographed in Savernake Forest, Wilts, on June 9th is set to emerge (as a male) on Saturday June 13th - and Savernake is not an 'early' site. 

Also in Savernake, is the Bumble Oak, a veteran oak outside the FC loos at Postern Hill picnic site. It has a copious sap run, on which Emperors, Empresses, Red Ads, hornets, wasps and numerous flies feed (including some scarce hoverflies). Note the soft white sugary beads. Note that Emperors feed with closed wings, only, and are forever being chased off sap runs by hornets.

Emperors hold territories in sheltered canopy gaps up in some of the nearby oaks.  

 

Visiting Knepp

Knepp Wildland will be open for Purple Emperor visitors again this year, primarily from June 20th to July 12th (which should coincide with the peak season period).  It involves a long walk and a full day - so come for the day.

Watching Emperors feeding on Patrick's Tree, July 2025

Please park in the main visitor carpark, at the Swallow Barn visitor centre just off the A24 at Dial Post. This is now a pay & display carpark, but your parking fee will be reimbursed if you spend £20 or more in the shop and/or restaurant. Fees are £3 for 5 hrs (reimbursable) or £5 for up to 10 hrs (£3 reimbursable).

A Purple Emperor route map will be available from the shop (and also from the camping, glamping & safari centre at New Barn Farm). 

Please follow this route. It runs past most of the best spots. Bring your lunch and plenty of water, especially if it's hot. It takes 10-15 minutes to get into the sallow areas, though the odd Emperor can be seen anywhere (including along the oaks along the lane near Swallows Barn, even from the queue for the loos).   

The best male territories will be marked with Purple Posts, indicating where to stand to watch males up in the oak canopy gaps (afternoons only - the males are not on territory during the mornings, they're exploring). Other good viewing spots will be marked with Purple Bunting. 

There will be a number of volunteers along the route, helping visitors to the hotspots. Once again, Purple Emperor head quarters will be in Lower Barn, along Green Lane.

Crucially, Emperors gather out of the wind: in a west wind, they will be on the east side of the oaks, and vice versa. Never look on windward edges.  

During the first third of the flight season, Emperor males descend to feed along the Knepp tracks, especially on cowpats and fox scats - but they only do this during the first three of four days of their lives. This year, it is likely that males will not be descending to feed after July 1st.  

I will be at Knepp from June 13th to 20th, and again from June 27th to July 4th. See you there...

 

 

 fro from the camping and glamping centre