Iris on Radio 4

The monarch of all the butterflies will be featured in Radio 4's Saving Species programme on Tues April 20th at 11am, as an update on Larval Doings in a Wiltshire Wood. It looks as though the programme wont be repeated on Thurs evening as there's a primeministerial debate then instead (!), so catch it on Iplayer if you miss it on Tues.
Matthew

Vote Purple!

Yes, on May 6th Vote Purple. You know it makes sense. It's easy - just walk into the polling booth wearing one sock, write Apatura iris above the first name on your ballet paper and put a large X by it - oh, and cross out all the riff-raff names below. We will be returned to parliament with an overwhelming mandate to govern, and govern we will ... Never mind the Blues, Yellows and Greens, they are but flotsam in the political world. We are Purple and we will Rule...
Thank you.

Feeding and Further Doings

Both Dennis Dell and I can report iris larvae starting to feed in captivity. Neither of us has suffered any significant winter losses amongst captive larvae (yet... but they can suddenly desiccate at this time of year). One of my captive larvae is still hibernating.

In the wild, all bar one of my surviving larvae have moved out of hibernation and are in the departure loungue - lined up alongside an opening leaf bud prior to starting to feed, and changing colour in the process. Their problem is that the trees flower before leafing, so the larvae have to wait. No losses (to predation or worse) since mid March, which is good news. The one still in hibernation is on an incredibly late narrow-leaved sallow, where there is no sign of swelling leaf buds or flowering.

First we sleep the winter, then we dance the spring...

Doings: Fri April 9th

Recording a new piece for Radio 4's Saving Species programme today in a Wiltshire wood. I checked 9 larvae, of which all bar one had woken out of hibernation. Mostly, they've repositioned themselves next to nearby swelling leaf buds, but a couple had travelled 30-40cm. One who had hibernated on a dead branch had repositioned himself 40cm away next to a living leaf bud, though I daresay he'd journeyed more than 40cm. None has started feeding yet, though two may start very soon. Mostly, they seem to be on rather late-leafing sallows - trees that flower before coming into leaf. So, lots of hanging about waiting - rather like being in an airport departure lounge...

They're at it again.... Fighting. I looked at my captive larvae at 6.45pm, and two were fighting already, over possession of one opening leaf bud - and they've only just woken up from 5 month's snooze. This insect is ridiculously irascible....
M.

SALLOWS IN ALICE HOLT

Someone seems to have planted sallow cuttings in the tiny bays off the main ride in Straits Inclosure, Alice Holt, using cuttings taken from the felled sallows. How absolutely marvellous! However, the best technique is probably to knock rods of stems 1m long and as thick as your thumb in as deep as possible. This worked very well in Pamber Forest 20 years back.
M.

HIBERNATING LARVAE

Gentlemen, Lady.
I am pleased to report that none of the surviving wild iris larvae I have been following has gone missing since my last visit (on 14th March). Quite remarkable as they were vanishing at 2-3 a week during Feb and early March, presumably to tit predation. The tit flocks have now split up, mercifully.

One larva has moved from its hibernation spot, the scar of a vanished spray, and travelled 30cm up to lie beside a swelling leaf bud. This was the first larva to enter hibernation, on Oct 23rd. All have greened up a lot, some totally.

Most of the breeding trees are just starting to flower, though only one or two leaf buds are beginning to open. Most larvae are next to opening flower buds, though some are next to leaf buds that haven't swollen at all. At this stage it seems that the butterfly has not selected trees that come into leaf early, or late, but watch this space on that.

Back home, half of my few captive larvae have moved to reposition themselves next to buds and are greening up, but the rest are still comatose.

And I found a mid-final instar Pearl-bordered Fritillary larva early this morning, suggesting that Euphrosyne, Queen of the Spirits of the Month of May, might start during the 2nd week of May.

And I saw my first swallow of the year.

And the rather scarce bumblebee-mimic hoverfly Criorhina ranunculi.

And apparently one of my daughters got up before noon......

Matthew