Sir Duke
Now this is one we definately had to find this spring. The Duke Of Burgundy is one of our rarer butterflies with a short season, from late April through May. The one photographed is a male, and was one of 5 males we were lucky enough to encounter yesterday,, along with one solitary female. All were fresh - having only been active for a day or two.
My first realisation was how small this butterfly is - about 30mm wingspan, which explains why it was so difficult to find. We had already met another enthusiast who exitedly announced they were flying. However it was the great Alan Thornbury who was kind enough to point them out to us, and we returned the favour by pointing out the locations where we had found the Dingy Skippers.
So all in all it's been a fabulous week for butterflies. May it continue for the rest of the season.
Sir Duke
Now this is one we definately had to find this spring. The Duke Of Burgundy is one of our rarer butterflies with a short season, from late April through May. The one photographed is a male, and was one of 5 males we were lucky enough to encounter yesterday,, along with one solitary female. All were fresh - having only been active for a day or two.
My first realisation was how small this butterfly is - about 30mm wingspan, which explains why it was so difficult to find. We had already met another enthusiast who exitedly announced they were flying. However it was the great Alan Thornbury who was kind enough to point them out to us, and we returned the favour by pointing out the locations where we had found the Dingy Skippers.
So all in all it's been a fabulous week for butterflies. May it continue for the rest of the season.