Apols for lack of communication, but my youngest daughter got married yesterday... (why do they have to get married during the Emperor season?...)... It went brilliantly well, and a rare soldier fly landed in my drink (Pygmy Soldierfly Oxycera pygmaea). Had the wedding taken place two weeks earlier the marquee might have been stormed by an Emperor, as the venue (Cotswold Water Park on the Glos / Wilts border) is Purple.
Not much news from elsewhere, as the weather has been dodgy, with localised deluges. Storm Evert gave high winds the the central and south-eastern parts of The Empire on Friday 30th. That wont have done any good there, a shame as Emperors were still going nicely (Neil saw 26 at Knepp on Thurs 29th).
The season is definitely winding down now: Ashley Whitlock struggled to see two males today in Alice Holt, and first instar larvae have been spotted in Sherwood Forest.
My guess is that the butterfly will last another week at the larger colonies, especially in the north and west of its range, where the season is later.
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