www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thank you for your input Guy. You shouldn't be apologising for the content of your diary as I am finding your stunning photos a delight to view and the tracking of the cats is creating a remarkable record. I am sure many others will agree.

Pauline wrote:Thank you for your input Guy. You shouldn't be apologising for the content of your diary as I am finding your stunning photos a delight to view and the tracking of the cats is creating a remarkable record. I am sure many others will agree.

Sure do. This is my favourite PD by a distance!

You're very kind, Pauline and David.

Here are a few photos of hibernacula from today's walk:



Notice the notches taken out of the leaf before folding.

The caterpillar is visible inside (on the right-hand leaf in this picture):



This shows the position of this hibernaculum relative to the terminal leaves of the twig - all the ones I've found so far have been similarly placed:



Here is a different one:



This sleepyhead has emerged from his hibernaculum (just the other side of the twig). It remains to be seen whether he will go back or move off and make another:



To close, here's Brahmā. It would be almost impossible to spot him if I didn't already know where he was:



Guy

I forgot to mention that the purple emperor egg sucked dry way back in August is still on its leaf and still in perfect condition. You can even see the small hole where some iridotrophic creature had stuck in its proboscis. This photograph was taken on Monday:



Iris eggs are made to last!

Guy

I meant to work today but the weather was so lovely I had to get out for a bit.

In the Rhône Valley, 15 species were still flying: small white, brimstone, Berger's clouded yellow, clouded yellow, northern brown argus, common blue, Adonis blue, chalkhill blue, red admiral, comma, Queen of Spain, tree grayling, wall, speckled wood and rosy grizzled skipper. I didn't see any graylings (semele).

Wall and tree grayling were the commonest butterflies:





I didn't get a view of the underside of this skipper but by default it is rosy grizzled. I've only ever seen two Pyrgus species at this site - malvoides and onopordi - and this did seem too large and pale for malvoides. The hindwing mark is too diffuse too. That said, the fat pd spots of the forewing are more malvoides. The butterfly looks most like armoricanus in the first picture but this is unknown from this site. I really should take my net at all times ...





Chalkhill blues were mostly on their last legs ...



... but I did see one or two relatively fresh ones. No decent pictures.

Some Adonis blues were in a similar state but others were still bright and shiny:



Here are two different northern brown arguses:





Speckled wood:



Changing tack somewhat: a week ago, Minnie got very excited about a deer carcass - or at least a deer's head - in my local woods:



At the time I put it down to irresponsible dog owners letting their animals chase the local wildlife, but I learnt a couple of days later that there was a lynx working the woods, with three cubs. A fresher carcass had been found not far away and a local expert had laid a camera trap and got photos of all four felines visiting the carcass the same night. I now think Minnie's find was also a lynx kill. Anyway, rather bizarrely, she found another carcass today, but this time a sheep carcass and just lying by the path. Normally, the sheep are in an enclosure (as they were today). Did one escape and get attacked outside the enclosure? Or dragged out by something that had learnt to work with electric fences. I can't imagine a farmer leaving a dead sheep on a public path.



Finally, here's the Hound of the Baskervilles herself last night:



I hadn't realised how effective that reflective harness was until I photographed her with flash (I didn't mean her to look - I didn't want to blind her!).



Guy

Padfield wrote: In the Rhône Valley, 15 species were still flying...

This is the time of year when my envy of you is at its most extreme

Minnie seems, once again, to be one of the luckiest dogs in Europe. I hope she'll be equally as enthusiastic when she has to bound through snowfall to get from A to B!

The response of reflective materials to flash can be amazing. I've had distant road signs stand out like beacons in night-time flash photos!

Mike

David M wrote: I hope she'll be equally as enthusiastic when she has to bound through snowfall to get from A to B!

The evidence is, she'll love it, David! This was back in May, before the snow melted:



Admittedly, it's a bit colder in January and February - but I hope to have her out skiing.

MikeOxon wrote:The response of reflective materials to flash can be amazing. I've had distant road signs stand out like beacons in night-time flash photos!

I hope it's the same phenomenon, Mike, as road signs also stand out in car headlights, which is what I'm most concerned about! I think I might get myself a similar harness, for cycling at night.

Guy

you cannot overdo 'protection', if cycling at night. I don't know what is allowed under Swiss law but you need to cover yourself with Christmas-tree type flashing lights, reflectors, and anything else you can think of

Mike

You're not alone Guy. Nights are indeed "drawing in". So said The Times yesterday:)

I now have to write to The Times to put them right!

I still follow the East Anglian scene. Yesterday's paper had an article about climate change.

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/rail_misery ... _1_3811063

My father was a journalist for that paper (no doubt you too are familiar with the EDP Guy). He would have been proud of this:

an 84-week spring clean

Climate change really has come to East Anglia!

Jack

Two glasses of Co-op Cava – despite your comments earlier Guy, I am not a malt drinker – and I can see clearly now (but the rain hasn’t gone!)

All this confusing business of “nights drawing in” would easily be solved if the Earth went round the sun in a circular orbit (not elliptical as at present) and the inclination of its axis were zero instead of 23 degrees.

I’m working on it. Might take a couple of years to sort.

Jack

It must be good stuff, that Co-op Cava - there's something distinctly Quixotic about plotting to correct the Earth's tilt ... One of my students once (very kindly) gave me a limited edition 1980 Dom Perignon, which I drank with great reverence - but to be honest I prefer the slightly peppery taste of Cava.

In the last two days, six of my nine iris cats have deserted their resting leaves. I have relocated two of these, Durgā and Trijaṭā:


(Durgā)


(Trijaṭā)

This aren't necessarily their final resting places but it is clear they are now in hibernation mode. It would be foolish to look for a new leaf at this time of year. I've scanned for the others but won't do a thorough search until the leaves have fallen.

Guy

love your Minnie Guy she looks a very mischievous dog Goldie

Do these Emperor cats keep their antennae extended during their period of hibernation, Guy?

You're right, Goldie - she's a cheeky little character. But very, very good ...

Yes, David - the horns stick out all winter. This picture was taken in February 2012:



Guy

I knew you'd have an answer to that!!

Not quite sure how such a thing provides benefit, unless one considers that the antennae resemble something natural that confuses predators.

So far as I know the horns, or antennae as you call them David, are are purely cryptic - I've never seen them deployed functionally in any way. But despite your confidence there is a lot I don't know about these little creatures!

Gonzalo flicked his tail and caused chaos last night, with winds of up to 178 kmh recorded north of the Alps and widespread blizzards. It is still snowing heavily as I write, though it is also melting fast because the ground is warm.



Unsurprisingly, Śiva and Brahmā had left their resting leaves and gone off to hibernate. I quickly found Brahmā, but not Śiva:



This is Trijaṭā:



This shows her position on the branch:



As you can see, iris cats hibernate in very exposed places, with no protection against the elements. They will stay put for about 5 months, then reposition themselves during March when the sap flows back into the buds, before waking up and eating when the buds actually burst, in April.

Only Vibhīṣaṇa is still on his leaf:



I believe Paul Fosterjohn still has a few purple emperor caterpillar pins for sale:



For more information, see: http://apaturairis.blogspot.ch/2014/10/ ... usive.html

Guy

I'm off to the UK tomorrow, so this will be my last iris cat report until November. Little Minnie has gone back to the kennels where she was born for a week.

I found Varuṇa at lunchtime today. He had crawled down to the base of his sapling and was hiding about 8 inches off the ground, by a knot. This means he is likely to spend most of the winter below snow level, which will offer him excellent protection from everything except voles - but I don't think they eat iris cats.


(apologies for the horribly focused picture - it makes my eyes go funny just looking at it!)

Guy

Have a good trip to Blighty, Guy.

Hope Minnie doesn't pine too much for you.

Safe journey. If you need a dog to walk you can always borrow mine while in the UK.