The Purple Emperor flight season continues to be delayed. The cold weather of the long Jubilee weekend further slowed larval & pupal development down, and the weather hasn't yet improved - though it's forecast to. One major problem is cold nights.
As an example, the three larvae I'm rearing in a sleeve in my garden entered the final instar on May 16th, which is quite early. However, the weather deteriorated after a warm and fine weekend on May 21st-22nd and they slowed right down. One of them pupated only this morning, with another busy pupating close by -
These two wont be out before the very end of June, but they're in Gloucestershire, and female, and their male cousins in the sunnier Southeast will start to emerge well before then.
It may be that a few larvae on early-leafing sallows in the Southeast were pupating over the weekend of May 21st-22nd, before the weather deteriorated - in which case they may be on the wing this coming weekend (June11th-12th), or in mid-June.
The main emergence is now unlikely to start before the weekend of June 18th-19th, and unless you're working an 'early' site you know well my advice is not to bother looking until that weekend.
Watch this space, and follow me on Twitter @MatthewOates76 (I wasn't born in 1976, I was reborn then...)
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