Fri June 28th: The National Festival of Stratocumulus Cloud

Doings within the Purple Empire today were severely restricted by a near-solid blanket of Stratocumulus Cloud - I'd like to send Stratocumulus Cloud into Room 101.

At Knepp, things started well with this recently emerged male feeding for 20 mins on Lord Knows What on the end of a dead bramble stem 2m up in a hedge -

Thereafter, Emperors erupted in the oaks whenever the cloud cover relented, though the longest break lasted only 15 minutes.  

Males are still emerging there, and the bulk of the female emergence is still to come. The Emperor is rapidly approaching peak season at Knepp, though elsewhere it is still only just getting going. Do visit - for visiting details scroll back to June 18th...

The best male territories at Knepp are marked out with purple posts (we didn't have enough posts for all the territories, so some are marked with purple bunting, and other good viewing places are marked with purple ribbon). This cheeky Red Ad took a fancy to one of the purple posts -

This does look like a genuinely good Emperor year, with glowing reports of large numbers at other sites, including Theberton Woods in Suffolk. Obviously, much depends on the weather from now on.

To the woods, this weekend, the lot of you!

Thurs June 27th: Cold Front Clearing...

Limited activity throughout the Purple Empire today, as most regions were hit by a brisk Moderate to Fresh W wind that sprang up after a dissipating cold front passed (the wind hit Knepp at 3.15, and closed the day down).

Knepp's day's Highlights, where the butterfly is nearly at peak:-

* 4 seriously worked up males hotly pursuing a low-flying White Stork!

* First eggs laid (nationally, in all probability).

* First 'tumbledown' of the season (in which a mated female rejects an unwanted male). 

* A 'ball' of 4 shimmering males flying around one hapless female...

* Male taken by a Kestrel (? first record, ever?).  

* I showed PEs to a group of Naked Ramblers.  

* Males are still coming down to feed on the tracks.  

Elsewhere:-

* First PEs seen in Notts yesterday (just S of Sherwood).

* More seen in Wilts and Worcs.

* None yet in Dorset and Glos, and no records come to light yet from Leics, Lincs and Norfolk.

* The Botany Bay, Chiddingfold Forest, aberration seems to be a particularly nice ab. iolata (which is much rarer nowadays that lugenda).

Overall: this is quite a good PE year, though most sites are only just getting going on most sites (Knepp is romping ahead).  

 

Wed June 26th: Into the Oven...

Heatwave conditions over much of The Purple Empire today.

At Knepp, where the temperature reached 30C and it was almost totally calm, males were fairly quiescent - heat-suppressed - from 2pm, which is unusually early for them to conk out. Apparently, only one was recorded feeding from the ground today. They probably came out to play again from 5.30 till about 7pm, but I finished early.  

Elsewhere, news of an acute aberration (of the ab. lugenda type) has reached us, from Chiddingfold Forest yesterday. Neil Hulme went there today to try to hunt it down... The photo I saw on social media, shows just about the most extreme underside ab. specimen I've ever seen - and I've toured the museums...

This may prove to be a good year for PE aberrations? These seem to be determined by temperature-shock on newly formed pupae (according to Dr Carl Bailey who has bred them). This year, there was a series of cold nights in early June - RAF Benson in SE Oxon recorded minimums of +2C and +1C on June 2nd, 9th and 11th. Fermyn Woods, Northants, has been the place of PE aberrations this century, and may well produce a few this year...

Wiltshire has kicked off - a number of sightings, including groundings, from Bentley Wood today. That means Savernake must have started too - they're in sync.

More sightings around the Greater London area today, but I don't think He's started in Herts yet. 

No sightings yet from the northern counties - Leics, Notts and Lincs, but good to report that 3 pupae were found in an East Leics site last night by scanning for flourescing pupae with UV torches (top work!).

Note that in heatwave conditions PEs (both sexes) sit in deep shade, like this male -

 

Tues June 25th

Briefly as I'm knackered and we've got football -

Knepp: Walked the Knepp PE transect this pm, and totalled 42 including two females (both being avidly courted). That's the second highest Week 2 tally after a mind-blowing 60 in the annus mirabilis year of 2018, and beating 37 in 2023.  Three females seen, the first recorded nationally (I think).  Very few males coming down to the tracks today though, but seriously good Violence in the territories from 1pm to 4pm.  

Elsewhere: At last Alice Holt, Hants, has kicked off - late for Alice.  Importantly, Fermyn Woods and a S Northants wood started today.  Also, Threberton Woods, Suffolk; Brandon Wood, Coventry; Tiddlesley Wood, Worcs.  

Right, football...

Midsummer Day...

Surprisingly big emergence at Knepp today. This is proving to be a much better year there than I'd anticipated.  

At last Bookham Common, Leatherhead, kicks off - sightings today! Still no sightings in Alice Holt Forest, Hants, but it must be imminent there.

Fermyn Woods should start very soon, perhaps tomorrow or Wed.  

Still very little progress generally. It's just that Knepp is racing ahead...

Here's a pristine male from today, feeding on organic cow pat - 

 

Sun 23rd: Doings...

 The Purple Emperor season is starting to get going...

At Knepp, today saw the first decent emergence - after a week of ones and twos. Males have started descending to the tracks: one yesterday, three pristine males feeding on shrimp paste baits today. I only managed to see about 12 males in all, but it was too cloudy for much of the time and they were only active intermittently.  

Elsewhere, the first male was seen in Bernwood Forest, Oxon / Bucks, yesterday; one was seen in Oversley Wood, Warwicks, today; Essex kicked off today, and the butterfly has also been seen in Epping Forest. 

Still none yet in Alice Holt Forest, Hants, and no news from Bookham Common, Surrey, which is an 'early' site.  Odd. 

Sorry for lack of pics but Blogger wont let me post any...

Follow me on Twitter on @MatthewOates76 

 

To the Woods, all of you...

The weather is at last set fair, and this weekend should see Purple Emperors start to emerge in numbers down south.

To date, the butterfly has only been seen at three sites: a scatter of males at Knepp in W Sussex - but no big emergence there yet; a report of one from Chilworth just south-east of Guildford, and a male today in one of the Epping Forest territories. 

These sightings may result from a scatter of early-developing larvae that managed to pupate before the weather fell badly apart in late May - and the bulk of larvae then got stuck in the entomological equivalent of a full motorway closure.

We shall see, but great Emperor seasons erupt - and this one ain't erupting...

To the woods, the lot of you: find that Emperor...