Friday, August 12, 2016
Who says Purple Emperors don't like flowers!
I have just perused the Dorset Butterfly sightings page and have seen a record of a female on 10th August photographed on a garden buddleia. Equally as interesting was the location, at St Ives near Ringwood, not a known hotbed for iris. It is well known that females will move some distance from their usual areas in August, I have seen wandering females on two occasions at Noarhill, Hampshire well into this month. Looking back over the Hampshire Butterfly Reports, I remember a male was seen nectaring on a buddleia on 1st August 1987 at Wellow. This is unusual behaviour but it might just be worth checking those garden buddleias, just in case.
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Otford Kent 2015 (22nd July). Posted here. Yes generally unusual, but now 1-2 reports each year. I am now investigating the attraction compounds of both male and female emperors.
There is now an interesting article and a photograph of this female in the news section of the Dorset Butterfly Conservation website.
We get a record of an old, dispersing adult (both sexes) on garden buddleias in most years now (e.g. a male in the Dever valley, Hants, last late July). Some of these may be wedding butterflies - butterfly confetti...
Indeed; a couple of years ago we had a report, and photos, of a female visiting a garden buddleia in Chinnor Oxon two days running.
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