All Change

As Matthew has already reported, Knepp felt very different today. Admittedly, I covered much less ground than during recent monitoring visits, but my day-count of 181 was disproportionately lower. Although I saw one 'Benny Hill chase' of seven, clashes involving more than a pair were rare. The regular bundles of four, five and six or more already seem a distant dream. The head of steam has been lost; they are suddenly getting lazy. I have no doubt that there will be more fireworks to come, but they can no longer be expected.

However, the numbers present remain huge. Knepp has set the bar so high that we have come to know this species, at least here, as a quite common butterfly of scrub and hedgerows; a butterfly of the wider countryside. Of course the emperor will never be Common, but neither will things ever be the same again, and that is something to celebrate.

On the way back to the car I saw my fourth tumbledown of the day. She landed on some Bracken and peered down on me as I edged below her. There is still life in the season yet, but there is now an urgency to squeeze every possible moment from this momentous iris year.