With the weather forecast for the next few days being rubbish at the best, we decided to go to Fermyn for the last time this season. Entered the woods at 9.30 this morning and it was soon obvious Fermyn has taken a heavy beating from the rain and wind of last 24 hours. By midday in reasonably good conditions not a single emperor was seen. .Finally at aprox. 1pm a female was seen gliding past the log pile, and then another one appeared by one of the deer hides. It was obvious that the second one was engaged in egg laying, returning to the same stand of sallow for about 10 minutes. It would appear that the males were massacred in last nights weather as none were seen by us or any of the other visitors compared to a count of over 60 a fortnight ago.
On a brighter note, a total of 6 eggs and a freshly hatched larvae were located in between the bouts of sunshine. It would appear Fermyn's season has been brought to a premature end, with only three females seen all day today. Farewell to Fermyn till 2016 . Next year Knepp here we come :)
1 comment:
You'll love Knepp, but bear in mind that there is a massive difference between Knepp and Fermyn - they don't come down! At Knepp they seem to feed almost exclusively on the trees (sap and perhaps honeydew). I think only half a dozen were seen down on the tracks / ground at Knepp this season.
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