Emperoring at Knepp 2024

Knepp Castle Estate is looking forward to welcoming Purple Emperor visitors again this season.  In addition to running its hugely successful Purple Emperor Safaris (11^th glorious season, but now fully booked!), Knepp will be welcoming Purple visitors along a set route that runs through many of the best spots.  Viewing points will be clearly marked out, particularly for male territories (occupied in afternoons only).

 The starting point is the new car park (+ shop, café & restaurant) at Swallows Farm just off the A24 at Dial Post.   Pick up a Purple Emperor Trial leaflet from there, and follow the set route.  Note that it takes a little while to get into Emperoring country, involves a long walk and will take the best part of a day.  Cake awaits you at the end.

Places to linger are marked on the trial leaflet, and on site with purple ribbon and bunting, and hopefully with arrowed posts.  These highlight male territories, which males occupy during each afternoon of suitable weather, and sallow areas where females can be seen and where males search for females in mornings during the first half of the season.

Note that Emperors are distributed by wind, and gather out of the wind.  East-facing wood edges are good in westerly winds, and vice versa.  Never look for Emperors on the windward side, they will have drifted leeward, even if that’s the shady side!

The Purple Emperor season at Knepp began on June 17^th, and should finish around July 23^rd – depending on the weather.  The last week of June should be the best week.’

 Note also that males take the mornings off during the last third of the flight season, so don’t visit for Emperors during the mornings after July 10^th.

 Volunteer helpers will be on site to facilitate visits, and there will be a Purple Emperor Information Centre trailer parked up along Green Lane, which is where most of the best male territories are.

Looking forward to meeting you. Come for the day…

We're Off!

Welcome to the 2024 Purple Emperor season!

Two males were seen this afternoon at Knepp Wildland, W Sussex, by myself and six others. It turned out that the prediction I made on June 4th was only 26 hours out - not bad, considering how bloody awful the weather's been... This is not an easy season to predict.

My guess is that a few Sussex larvae managed to pupate in good weather around May 20th or 21st, or possibly during a spell of reasonable weather around May 24th or 25th. Then the weather got really nasty... Some of those 'early bird' larvae went on to produce adults now. 

However, the bulk of the national emergence may be some time off, and it may be that there's an unusually protracted emergence this year.

We'll see... So much in the Purple world is speculation...  I don't think most sites will start for a while yet, and it will be interesting to see when the next record comes in, and when the butterfly starts in the northern reaches of the Empire.

Sorry, I can't post a picture as the wretched thing wont let me...

PS  Four males were seen here on Tues 18th, but it was too cloudy for much of the afternoon.

PPS  I'm away from Knepp for a few days, High Browning on Exmoor...

 

 

Delayed Start...

Looks like I got that wrong... (see last post)...

A large area of low pressure is anchored over  Britain, prevented from moving away by blocking highs. Very few midsummer butterflies are going to emerge in the current temperatures, especially those that pupate in trees (as opposed to warm microclimate niches at ground level).  

The 2024 Emperor season is, in effect, suffering from the entomological equivalent of a full motorway closure...

Once the weather improves, Emperors will need two or three genuinely warm days before they start to emerge. Their season is now unlikely to start before Thurs 20th.  

However, hope springs eternal, and I will look this Sunday, the 16th, if the weather looks suitable that day...

The bad news is that the longer this poor weather lasts, and the longer the insect is trapped in the vulnerable pupal stage, the fewer Emperors will fly - due to predation of pupae by unknown predators.

Watch this space...

Predicted Start

The first Purple Emperor of 2024 will be seen on June 16th, probably in the early afternoon.  

That will be in the Sussex - Surrey - South London region, where the season commences earlier (or NW Kent, if anyone looks there).  In other regions, the butterfly wont start much before June 23rd.  

Please note that I once got one of these annual predictions spot on!!!

Peak season period will encompass the last five or six days of June and the first week of July.  

Do not bother looking after July 23rd, except in the northern reaches of the Empire and at known late-flying sites.

Adult numbers could be high, given that winter survival rates were relatively good and, crucially, that the weather during the bulk of the pupal period looks to be set fair - but much depends on flight season weather.   

Watch this space...  

Contact me if you want to join the PE WhatsApp group, of avid Emperor watchers and studiers (though please note that it is not a photographers group, though many of us also take photos): matthew@matthew-oates.co.uk  

   

Mid-June Kick Off

The prospects for a record-breaking early Purple Emperor season have faded, due to indifferent May weather. Moreover, the outlook for the next two weeks isn't hot and dry, though it is better for the Southeast, where the Emperor season invariably begins.

Emperor larvae are currently starting to pupate (a few may have already done so in Sussex, Surrey and Kent), but the pupation and pupal processes this year are likely to be drawn out by relatively low temperatures and spells of rain.

At this range, we are on for a mid-June start in Sussex and Surrey, though an earlier start remains possible.

Some midsummer species are, though, still on for very early flight seasons, having jumped the gun in early spring (notably White-letter Hairstreak but probably also some of the Browns.

Here's my captive PE larva, 'Mr Tumnus' - only it looks like he's successfully transitioned to 'Miss Tumnus'...

Coming soon: Visiting Knepp in '24 

 

The 2024 Purple Emperor Season...

Since my last post, in mid-April, Emperor larvae have been slowed down by adverse weather: a 12-day cold spell in late April, and then the wet start to May. Sadly, then, He should not be on the wing in May this year... 

One larva I've been following closely spent nine days skin changing to L4 (4th instar) in late April, but then only three days changing to L5 (5th & final instar) during the warm second week of May. 

That one is, though, is a late developer. This spring, we may well have had some final instar larvae in April, in the warm Sussex / Surrey region. 

As things stand, the 2024 Purple Emperor season is likely to start during the second week of June, probably around the 10th (Sussex, Surrey). 

But that is weather dependent - a hot second half of May and a fine start to June could yet see 2024 establish a new record for the earliest UK PE (currently, the date of the official all-time earliest definite PE is 10/6/1893, followed closely by 11/6/2011 and 11/6/2017).  

Conversely, if the second half of May is grotty, and June starts poorly, PEs may not begin before mid-June. They can get stuck for ages pupating, and then get stuck in the pupal stage during cool or wet weather... 

Watch This Space, an early Emperor season is still on the cards. I will tip you off when it's time. Whatever, do not plan on going Emperoring after July 21st this year, they'll be gone.

Finally, we run an inner sanctum of Emperor research workers on WhatsApp (the People of Purple Persuasion WhatsApp group, 55 members). Do please email me if you want to join (though we are not a photographers group, and are fairly extreme - several of us only work the larvae! Email matthew@matthew-oates.co.uk).  We particularly need someone from Kent...

  

Early Season Warning!

I know this sounds silly, after such a miserably wet winter and early spring, but the Purple Emperor is likely to be on the wing ridiculously early this year, quite possibly at the end of May...

Larvae came out of hibernation and commenced feeding unusually early, having suffered only relatively low predation rates.

Fourth instar larvae were recorded in Sussex in early April. That's unprecedented. Fourth instar was recorded in Notts, at the northern end of the known Empire, in mid-April.  

Purple Emperor larvae can shoot through the 4th instar, when the weather's dry - and a big anticyclone is (at last) setting in...

Of course, cold and/or wet weather can slow 5th instar larvae right down, but if the May weather behaves, expect this butterfly to be flying by its end, or at the very start of June.

Watch this space!