Purple Emperor
It is rare that I get an opportunity to photograph Purple Emperors as it is a long journey from Yorkshire. But I was down south for my son's graduation and it did not seem too much of a detour. This freshly-emerged male was imbibing salts from the forest track. This is a habit that is peculiar to males (though I have once observed a female Purple Emperor taking salts). Research has shown that the caterpillar's diet is low in Sodium, but if males take in Sodium it aids their reproductive success. The Sodium ions can be transferred to the female during mating and helps egg survival. Research has also shown that Monarch butterfly caterpillars that feed in the salt splash zone of roads develop stronger flight muscles than butterflies reared away from roads with lower Sodium levels.
Purple Emperor
It is rare that I get an opportunity to photograph Purple Emperors as it is a long journey from Yorkshire. But I was down south for my son's graduation and it did not seem too much of a detour. This freshly-emerged male was imbibing salts from the forest track. This is a habit that is peculiar to males (though I have once observed a female Purple Emperor taking salts). Research has shown that the caterpillar's diet is low in Sodium, but if males take in Sodium it aids their reproductive success. The Sodium ions can be transferred to the female during mating and helps egg survival. Research has also shown that Monarch butterfly caterpillars that feed in the salt splash zone of roads develop stronger flight muscles than butterflies reared away from roads with lower Sodium levels.