Saw my last Knepp Emperors of 2025 today. It was hard work. No males, but I watched five females sap feeding during the late morning, notably this one who is in remarkably good condition (the others were worn and ragged) -
From 12.45, one by one they ceased feeding and flew off to do some serious work - egg laying.
The 'egg lay' this year should be very high indeed, though that tends to lead to high autumn and winter predation rates...
There's another week or ten days left to the season at later sites, like Savernake, but I'm sure there wont be any August sightings this year. There may, though, be some second brood sightings in October, if the warm weather continues...
Intrigued by a confirmed sighting of a male in a garden in Guisborough, just SE of Middlesborough (and just in N Yorks) on July 11th, next to Guisborough Woods. Such sightings tend to be put down as 'releases', or possibly as Butterfly Confetti at weddings, but please don't underestimate the Purple Emperor butterfly: He seeks nothing less than temperate world domination...
Also, good to see several Dark Crimson Underwings feeding on the Emperor's sap runs yesterday and today. It's a class insect.
No comments:
Post a Comment