She’s there Guy ‘She was Dolores on the dotted line’. Or at least she was there! One of three losses during December - Quilty is also gone which may well be significant. I didn’t tell poor Humbert - he’d never make it through the winter if he knew….. I didn’t realise you were so close to Nabokov’s h...

Yep - stunning creature beautifully captured - lovely stuff.

I saw a lot of this species throughout 2023. They were very common in May in southern Turkey where I spent some time working on new trip options. IMG_6944.jpeg They were then encountered throughout the summer in various places around Europe with the final sighting being the most pleasing - a patch o...

Hi all - It’s been a while, and although I’ve been increasingly focusing on butterflies a little further afield, I haven’t neglected my investigation into the purple emperor population that this diary was essentially started to document. This is my fifth year of studying the overwintering population...

Yes - I think Guy’s already covered this.

Rearing lots of both and having a really good look has been added to the To-Do list!

Tim Cowles wrote up an interesting study of the immature stages but unfortunately I can’t seem to get his site to load currently.

Actually - scrap that - I’ve just checked some more of both Roger’s and Guy’s images and the app is pretty hit and miss. This fits in with my previous experience of being presented with wrongly identified images by people relying on apps.

57f75ed4-84cd-4cfd-8121-f27189170529.jpeg Just to add this image that was included with the other two when the images were posted in our WhatsApp group. It seems to cancel out the roundness suggested from the other angles, but still points towards Berger’s in some regards. I spent a chunk of time t...

Yes - really enjoying the holiday diary also Wurzel. Not a huge butterfly list in spring, but I often find a few really special species preferable to the overwhelming numbers you might encounter later in the year. I need to do some more spring trips! Great stuff.

Great swallowtail story Paul. It is amazing how we throw caution to the wind when we catch sight of our quarry! I often find myself doing all sorts of things that I would never entertain under normal circumstances.

What a beauty Ian - superb find!

This is certainly a Red Admiral chrysalis. Do you have nettles nearby or perhaps pellitory of the wall? I find lots of red ad cats on pellitory in late summer down south.

The encounter that everyone dreams of - well done!

A pleasure to catch up on your diary just now Trevor. So much to enjoy but the two purple species and those chalkhills top the list for me. Lovely photos as ever.

Sounds like heaven Dave! I’ve been on and off at Chiddingfold for the last few years (covering a wide area on my bike) but for me it’s probably been more miss than hit. I didn’t manage it this year for various reasons but clearly I should have tried harder! You (along with a few others) on the other...

Looks like Knot Grass I think

Is that ‘enigma’ definitely lycaon David? Looks like a female jurtina to me (I certainly wouldn’t hesitate in the areas where I see both species) but you do lead many trips in this part of the world, and I’ve pretty much never been there so if you say so I’ll take it!

Thanks guys - I certainly run the risk of falling foul of ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’ but it does feel like with each passing season I edge closer to something like the true picture. On the subject of key predators the answer unfortunately is that I don’t know. If I hadn’t signed up to...

It seems like a long time since you commented on the WLH post but many thanks both. Finally back from trips and turning my attention to the things that really matter, starting with my thoughts regarding one of the few species I think I have a pretty good understanding of - the plucky old purple empe...

As always it’s a real pleasure to read about the unfolding season in your part of the world Guy.

I think your larva is some kind of hoverfly - I don’t know them at all but a quick search says it’s something like this…

https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/e ... he-eligans

Another excellent report David. The kind of trip that you can cope with if it’s sandwiched between more productive, well known trips - not something you’d want to be your only trip of the year!

Very interesting reading anyway, and good for you for giving it a good go.