Padfield

[Chris Jackson]

Its amazing to see those clusters of White Admirals. What a sight!
Chris

[Roger Gibbons]

I’m fortunate in that I get to see lots of butterflies and sometimes puddling in large numbers, but that WA shot just took my breath away. I love the aerial shot where they all have open wings. It’s the sort of sight you only see once in a lifetime. That image will stay with you a long time, I think!

[Padfield]

Round your way, Chris and Roger, it is southern white admiral that gathers in numbers, I believe. In fact, my first ever southern white admirals were with Roger in 2004 (just before I discovered Valais!) and I was amazed to see them in their dozens. But I agree, it wasn't quite the phenomenon I witnessed yesterday.

Back to old friends today. Hostilian chose his pupation site well (apart from that pesky petiole I had to remove). Although he doesn't look anything like a sycamore leaf he is still well camouflaged against the jagged outlines and shadows:




(natural light)


(flash)

Novus emerged into 5th instar four days later than Hostilian so I expected him to be pupating about now. Sure enough, he has relocated to the underside of a sallow leaf higher up his tree and is showing what I now know are the characeristic signs of being pre-pupal:



Sextus is most definitely no longer a baby:



Wally Walbum has so far managed to escape the attentions of the forest bugs:



I looked again, in vain, for white admiral pupae - but I did find a tiny caterpillar on a bush I hadn't previously searched. It doesn't seem to be in final instar yet:



Adult butterflies on the walk included my first local woodland brown this year ...



... and my first ever (I think) northern wall on my home patch around Huémoz:



It's not even fresh, so somehow I must have missed them, perhaps mistaking them for large wall, which was also flying today:



Or is that a weakly marked northern wall? It looked in every way like petropolitana except for the absence of the wavy band on the hindwing. I'll compare it with other local maera.

Finally, I've been following a programme to wean Minnie off chamois, which she got addicted to chasing after she had done it once or twice. I downloaded a superb book by a police dog trainer and today the first fruits of our work showed - she was able to stand by me and watch a chamois without straining at the leash (he recommended no sight or smell of the chase target during the weaning, but that is impossible in Huémoz).

The chamois:



Minnie (on the leash to protect her from her own vices, but the tension is only that of the flexi-spring - she's just standing and watching):



She continued to watch as it went peacefully on its way:



The principle is that hunting dogs are bred to chase and their emotional well-being depends on this outlet. HOWEVER, although the fun of chasing in itself is internally conditioned and reinforced just by doing it, the target is externally conditioned, reinforced by getting the thrill of the chase from that particular target. The trick, therefore, over months of patient work, is to dissociate the dopamine rush of the chase from the old learnt target - chamois - and associate it with a new learnt target - in her case 'squeaky ball'. It took me weeks to get her to take an interest in chasing any inanimate object at all, but now she goes wild for squeaky ball.

Guy

[Jack Harrison]

I showed the White Admiral pictures to my wife. If truth be told, Stella is only mildly interested in butterflies because I am. But you certainly scored a hit with those White Admirals. Incredible shots.

Now to persuade her that cricket isn't always boring

Jack

[Roger Gibbons]

Round your way, Chris and Roger, it is southern white admiral that gathers in numbers, I believe. In fact, my first ever southern white admirals were with Roger in 2004 (just before I discovered Valais!) and I was amazed to see them in their dozens. But I agree, it wasn't quite the phenomenon I witnessed yesterday.

I recall the first time you saw a Southern White Admiral. You hurdled a 1m fence and sprinted off down the track in pursuit. Colin Jackson couldn’t have kept up with you. As you say, we later saw them in dozens.

Roger

[Padfield]

I'm glad Stella enjoyed the white admirals, Jack. I think expecting her to enjoy cricket as well is probably a step too far ...

The southern white admirals were wonderful, Roger - that was a good couple of days. The other thing I really wanted to see, but in the event didn't, was cardinal, which would also have been a lifer for me. I remember checking every passing silver-washed fritillary but never getting a confirmed sighting. Perhaps it was this that sensitised me, as within a year I had found my first Swiss individual ... I won't forget the furry blues, either.

As evening fell tonight I went to check on my iris cats/pupae.

Sextus is in the prime of his fifth instar life:



High up his sallow tree, Novus will pupate while we are all asleep tonight:


(it poured with rain most of the afternoon)

He spent yesterday preparing his silk attachement and all of today head down on the underside of that leaf. I do hope his wonky horn will not present a problem when he gets undressed.

Finally, a sight that will remain with me no less than the white admirals - Hostilian under his spreading sycamore leaf:



Guy

[essexbuzzard]

Extraordinary set of images of the white admirals,Guy. Quite took my breath away,and i wasn't even there! Don't think i would have been able to keep the camera steady! And congrats on following the PE cats to pupation,especially the one on the sycamore leaf. Would love to see that!

Just booking my flight from Stansted to CH as we speak...lol

[David M]

The way you 'personalise' these immature stages adds to the excitement of seeing how they're getting on, Guy. Can you possibly 'win the lottery' by seeing any of these pupae emerge into adults?

[Padfield]

Thanks Mark. I wonder if I'll ever see something like that again.

Naming them is practical, too, David. It makes it much easier to catalogue the photos and keep track of everything. But of course, the main reason is just to recognise the 11-month, lonely dangerous journey every purple emperor you see has made, from eggshell to wings.

Although I had weird and magical dreams of pupae last night, Novus hadn't changed by this morning. I think these things must be highly temperature-dependent. Hostilian spent 8 complete days in his 4th-5th instar interdermal, because of the cold, while Novus and Sextus spent less than 48 hours in the same stage. Last night was much cooler than when Hostilian pupated, so if Novus takes a day longer it is no great surprise. Here he is this morning:



Guy

[Lee Hurrell]

Guy, I have just caught up on your diary (It's not just my diary I am a bit behind on) and like William and Essex, I physically exclaimed at those pictures - simply staggering. Of course I have never seen anything like that either although, like David mentioned, visiting the Alps a few years back was amazing for what you don't see in the UK.

Your dedication never fails to amaze and inspire.

Best wishes,

Lee

[Padfield]

Thanks, Lee. I'm quite taken aback by the reaction to the white admiral shots and footage - and so glad I took it. What a stroke of luck I chose that day to go.

Back in a sallow nearer home, Novus is still biding his/her time. Hostilian adopted this head-down posture one evening and was a pupa the next morning. Novus has been in this position for three consecutive mornings now. Who knows what subtle internal and external stimuli control their timers? Perhaps that is why it is seemingly so difficult to get captive-bred larvae to emerge in synch with their wild cousins.



Guy

[Jack Harrison]

Perhaps that is why it is seemingly so difficult to get captive-bred larvae to emerge in synch with their wild cousins.

I can't speak for PEs, but for Orange Tips (as pupae) and Peacocks and Tortoiseshells (as adults) keeping them in the fridge (in plastic boxes) at temperature circa 4 to 6C ensures that they don't come out too early. They are taken out of their "winter quarters" around 1st April and then are in synch with the wild cousins. But I guess it might be difficult to keep PE larvae in the fridge and then on awakening, transfer to growing sallow leaves.

Jack

[Padfield]

True. But I think part of my point, which I expressed badly, is that in the wild various mechanisms or circumstances actually seem to to combine to prevent synchronisation, differentially introducing delays at various stages of the process. It is true you can hold all your pupae back by putting them in the fridge, and I admire you for your attention to this, Jack - but with these PEs I'm seeing a fascinating variety of responses to environmental stimuli, depending on the aspect of the site, a particular caterpillar's preference for shade or sun, the relation of daily temperature to the exact stage the caterpillar is at and so forth. The result will be a staggered emergence from the end of June probably through to the beginning of August (in the population as a whole). I saw a male purple emperor in the valley as late as September last year. I imagine that to replicate this in captivity you need to allow as many external variables as possible to come into play, so the inherent internal variables of the caterpillars have something to respond to.

Guy

[Padfield]

My parents arrived yesterday for their annual holiday. I hope that will mean I get a few local upland butterflies over the next couple of weeks.

The weather was very cool again today, with rain much of the afternoon. First thing in the morning, Novus was still a caterpillar. This is the fourth consecutive morning he has been immobile in this position but he does look perfectly healthy (apart from the wonky horn).



Guy

[Padfield]

Good news and sad news this morning.

Novus has finally pupated - that is the good news:



His wonky horn is represented in the pupa by a slightly shorter horn:



The sad news is that less than a week from flying, Hostilian has been taken by some creature:



I can't really imagine what took him. There's no other evidence of deer browsing so I presume it was a bird - and the bird must have been in flight as there's no way to reach him by walking and perching.

Sextus is still fine - for now ...

Guy

[MikeOxon]

Knowing the natural attrition rate of caterpillars, it's remarkable how many of yours seem to be getting through! At least one can think that whatever took Hostilian got quite a good meal, since he was fully grown I watched a Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) with three damselflies together in its beak - all caught in flight. Goodness knows how it managed to catch and hold them all successfully.

I was pleased to see both the juvenile white Starlings together in my garden this morning, so they are surviving well, so far.

Mike

[David M]

I agree the removal of the PE pupa seems to defy logic.

Could a human hand be responsible?

[NickMorgan]

What a shame, Guy, after following the caterpillar and chrysalis for so long. I hope the others are more successful.

[Chris Jackson]

Could strong wind or a gust be to blame for the pupa falling?
Chris

[Lee Hurrell]

Perhaps as Hostilian was not on sallow but sycamore he may have been somehow disadvantaged?

With Novus, good news about the wonky horn - I did wonder what would happen there...

Lee