All Hail the Emperor
A male Purple Emperor butterfly (Apatura iris)
butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/purple-emperor
I have only ever seen Purple Emperor once before, July 29th 1995! So it was red letter day yesterday to finally return to the same site, Bentley Wood, on the Hampshire / Wiltshire border. Over four hours I glimpsed one and got fabulous views of this second individual.
There was a bit of an 'oh no!' moment when a white van delivery vehicle came charging own the dirt track, probably taking an unauthorised short cut. Would it run over the butterfly?? I've never seen the like before. The butterfly never flinched, never moved and just carried on as if nothing had happened once the vehicle had gone straight over the top in a cloud of dust. Remarkable.
Now I can concentrate on trying to find one in Dorset. Despite attempts over several years, I have so far failed to do so.
All Hail the Emperor
A male Purple Emperor butterfly (Apatura iris)
butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/purple-emperor
I have only ever seen Purple Emperor once before, July 29th 1995! So it was red letter day yesterday to finally return to the same site, Bentley Wood, on the Hampshire / Wiltshire border. Over four hours I glimpsed one and got fabulous views of this second individual.
There was a bit of an 'oh no!' moment when a white van delivery vehicle came charging own the dirt track, probably taking an unauthorised short cut. Would it run over the butterfly?? I've never seen the like before. The butterfly never flinched, never moved and just carried on as if nothing had happened once the vehicle had gone straight over the top in a cloud of dust. Remarkable.
Now I can concentrate on trying to find one in Dorset. Despite attempts over several years, I have so far failed to do so.