Today was the 8th very windy day in a row here at Knepp. Wind has deprived us of the second week of the Emperor season, which is normally the optimum week for seeing pristine males. The good news is that it's set to drop tomorrow, though I suspect it's done some damage.
At Knepp, males are still emerging and descending to feed on the tracks, and the bulk of the female emergence is yet to come (plus some more males). The emergence has probably been slowed down by cold nights this last week (ask any gardener...).
Today, like yesterday, males were very active for about 1 1/2 hours from late morning, then calmed down - searching for newly-emerged females.
Advise: When the wind drops, get out Emperoring, they'll erupt. It could be tomorrow...
Females are starting to be noted. I saw three today, all pristine. Yesterday, a mating pair was filmed here, high in the oak tops, with two unsuccessful males trying to muscle in (don't ask...).
At Knepp, we have a gentle stream of visitors walking the Purple Emperor Walk, with the leaflet -
I probably helped about 100 people see their first Emperor(s) today. We want to offer Life-changing Experiences...
The butterfly is now out in all counties it is known from (plus some others it hasn't been recorded from, yet), and will be at Peak Season this next week - and the weather's set fair...
To the woods, the lot of you. Enjoy...
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