Pauline

[Pauline]

Exactly so, Dilettante. It was very overcast with the threat of rain but I am sure these individuals were very fresh. It was also still very warm. Thank you so much for your kind words.

Thank you too Mike - I also like the first one and I bear in mind your words about everyone prefering something different when it comes to art (if you can call my photos that).

Hi Pete, good to hear from you again. I'm afraid my 'set-up' is just my humble little fz38, hand held as usual on a cloudy day - but the butterfly WAS beautiful. I value your comments Pete and thank you for the praise - much appreciated.

[Pauline]

Well, what a morning! I broke my own rule which is never to go out on a Saturday - but I was getting desperate . I decided I would allow myself an hour at Abbots Wood before returning to the chores. I bumped into Mark and Sarah (nice to meet you Sarah) and we spent an enjoyable hour chatting whilst watching for PE of which there wasn't even a glimpse. At 10.00 am I bid them farewell but they decided to accompany me and carry on across to the Straits. We were just approaching the gate when Mark espied a PE low down on Hazel though how he spotted it over 8 foot of bracken is a mystery to me. We fought our way through bracken and nettles (which was right over my head):

To cut a long story short before we could reach the butterfly it flew off, gliding up and down the path, only to come to rest on mark's foot!! Now, this is nothing personal Mark but if anyone knows how I can 'disguise' Mark's foot with Elements I would be very grateful to them!

Mark eventually tried to provide us with a more picturesque background by removing his sandal but once again the butterfly flew off, only to land again on the track. This pattern was repeated several times. By now we had been joined by another couple - friends of Gibster - and as this was their very first sighting ever their awe and excitement added to ours. The butterfly remained with us until a dog walker refused to wait and the PE returned to the canopy:

Although the background is 'busy' what I like about this shot is that it shows the butterfly in its natural surroundings and also shows both sides of the wings at the same time - a shot I have never achieved before.

A few pics from the (very) many that I took in fact I haven't even had a chance to look at them all yet so there may well be more to come!

[philm63]

Pauline

Excellent shots of the Purple Emperor, I am green with envy!!!

Phil

[Neil Freeman]

Cracking shots of the Purple Emperor Pauline

I also love your Chalkhill Blue photos. I much prefer the upperwing photos to the others which, whilst good, seem a little 'generic'

Edit: I take back the 'generic' comment Pauline, I think it is just the nature of the CB underside which can seem a bit bland compared to some of the other blues.

Neil F.

[Mark Tutton]

Hi Pauline
nice to bump in to you again today great shots.
Glad you managed to crop out my toes from the 'foot' shot
I have attached the photo I took whilst you were picturing me immersed head high in bracken and nettles. What people won't see is that I had shorts on - and my legs are still throbbing from the stings!!!! perhaps that explains the poor quality of the shot - my excuse anyway it is a shame because it would have been great to get an emperor 'on green'. It would appear that he was cleaning his proboscis so he was probably on the track as we approached - good result though.
Will probably see you next week

[Wurzel]

Cracking shots Pauline I'm very jealous

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

The last shot is just amazing! Well done Pauline! Every scale is visible and sharp!

Agreed, and what an unusual choice of material upon which to land!

I think I've only ever seen Chalk Hills on grasses/flowers.

[Pauline]

A big thank you to Phil and Wurzel for your kind comments but it really was a combination of luck and Mark's sharp eyesight (not to mention his height in being able to see over the tops of foliage ).

Thank you too Neil. I have to tell you that when Mark very generously said to me " go on Pauline, get in there and take your close up shots" my hands were shaking so much I couldn't screw my close-up lens on!!!!

I hope your legs have stopped throbbing Mark - bet they haven't cos I can still feel the stings on my arms!! Thank you for your comments and for including that photo because as you say it is a view not often seen. Thanks must also go to Sarah who was very unselfish in leaving the butterfly on the ground to try to intercept the dog-walker so that the rest of us could continue to enjoy it.

I appreciate your comments David on my Chalkhills - thank you for taking the time to post.

A beautiful sunny morning provided another wonderful opportunity to meet up with old friends and familiar faces as well as meeting new folk in the Alice Holt complex, all hoping for a glimpse of the PE. Personally, I saw 2 males but the closest I got was when one landed on the watch tower. I gather that through the day there were quite a few sightings in different areas and a brief 'touch down' but to the best of my knowledge photo opportunities were limited. The following shot was taken when the butterfly landed under the roof of the tower so is heavily cropped.

[Pauline]

Whilst pursuing a glimpse of a most coveted butterfly, I cannot ignore the more common but can't decide which crop I prefer

Actually, looking at these photos side by side it is clear the first one is better simply because there is more of the wing visible and the probiscus is out.

[MikeOxon]

I'm with you on the first one It's got lovely compositional 'balance' and wonderful soft colours - I think it would look great as a framed picture on the wall.

As Richard Lewington points out in his excellent article in Atropos ( http://www.richardlewington.co.uk/pdf/atropos.pdf ), there are many different purposes for photographs (and illustrations). Some will doubtless prefer your second photo because it concentrates more on the butterfly, whereas I prefer the first for its overall artistic effect.

Mike

[Goldie M]

Lovely shots Pauline I must come down your way next year the Purple EM is one i've not got yet Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Mike - it is good of you to say so. I was pleased to see that you too got some shots of PE on the ground which seems to be quite a rare occurrence this year.

Thank you Goldie - until you actually see one for yourself you will probably not appreciate fully what all the fuss is about so I hope you manage it next year.

I have always said that I will enclose both good and less good shots in this diary as I want it to be a complete record of my progress - and yesterday was less good! I stopped off at Chalton Down as I was passing but it happened to be at the hottest part of the day with a bright, harsh, unrelenting sun right overhead. I had only been here once before 'out of season' but now it was very different. Impressive, breathtaking, serene, beautiful, were all words that sprung to mind as I surveyed the multi-coloured patchwork of wild flowers which were teeming with butterflies. The butterflies claimed not just the ground but the air space with multi species chases frequent. It was amusing to watch the Skippers chase the DGF which in turn were chasing the Marbled Whites and Chalkhills. I stood surrounded by butterflies and colour. I lost count of the number of species I saw (including my first Gatekeepers) and also noted a meadow Brown with one very pale wing. I could only get a shot of the underside but when it opened its wings that particular wing was almost white.

Well, back to the photography. I had not been there very many minutes watching dozens of Chalkhills when I spotted a mating pair. I know from experience that the blues are very difficult to photograph as they are very reflective and frequently look 'bleached' so I adjusted the exposure compensation to -2 which is the most extreme setting for my camera. This gave me a reasonable image of the male, but the female, which was freshly emerged and darkish brown, together with the green background, came out very dark. I realised that this was the same scenario as a dark butterfly on a white flower! I remembered that it would have been better if I had been shooting in RAW and I have also learnt that there is a setting on my menu (somewhere) to help deal with these problems of contrast. Given the harsh sun right overhead and the proximity of the site I decided it was probably better just to return at a more sensible time of day (eg 6.00am ). I took the opportunity just to enjoy the experience of being literally surrounded by butterflies before returning home. However, a few shots to show the effects of the harsh sun and hopefully the next time they will be better:

I learned over the weekend that under exposing an image (as well as a higher ISO) creates a slightly faster shutter speed and as my camera is hand held this has probably been to my advantage.

[Pauline]

Didn't get out today until 4.00pm so popped up to the Straits just on the off chance. Got to the 1st watch tower and the only person in sight was a guy with a net. Regular readers will know that on such occasions I tend to play ignorant but interested and this was a very interesting encounter. He claimed to be the person who released 300 Glanville cats at an old landfill site near Farnham (where he lives) 10 years ago. He claimed they thrived until this year when 'the conservation people decided they didn't want them there and collected them all up). He looked for webs and imagos this year but couldn't find any. He had no knowledge of the Heath Frits on this site although he told me he has released 100 Black Hairstreak cats in the Alice Holt complex, in 'a secluded and discrete location'. Apparently he has been doing this since he was a boy and knew the backgound to many of the sites (eg. all the sites you searched in Cranleigh, Susie!). Today he was after female Purple Emperors and Purple Hairstreaks!. He had seen 6 PE in the Straits (in fact we saw 2 whilst we were talking) but all were males. All he had in his bag was 1 White Admiral and 2 SWF!! He said he had 30 PE's at home but had only managed to get 2 pairs (they need to be hand paired apparently). He only visits Straits 2/3 times per year now as his main interest is European and he has recently brought over a Compton Tortoiseshell (I think???) from Serbia where they are moving from Russia. He has a friend in Estonia who collects the butterflies. He said he has discovered a new species in France and has written various papers on butterflies - he was keen to breed through several life cycles to learn from the results without getting into in-breeding. He teaches arts and ceramics at a local school so considers this very much a life long hobby. The conversation went on for over an hour so needless to say no photos were taken this evening (although I do have a car reg no. ). I imagine that what he is doing is legal, albeit controversial. He did introduce himself but I shall refer to him as Colin W. as I imagine he might be known to some on this web site. I left as he prepared to do another recce of the site.

[P.J.Underwood]

Pauline,
I have a fair knowledge of the Wrecclesham site,including planning issues.It would be very interesting to see the environmental survey,that should have been done as part of the recent planning application.Were Glanvilles,Heaths,orchids and sand lizards included?It could be that in any planning application it might be advantageous to supress (eliminate)this information!If it was the conservationists,who are they,and what are they trying to prove.Could it not be the eliminationists!
Philip

[Pauline]

Philip, my advice would be to leave well alone tho we can discuss elsewhere if you wish.

I have not seen very many Purple Emperors in my time and I have certainly never seen one landing on Thistle, grass heads, bramble flowers and bracken - until about 2 hours ago!! I spent about 40 minutes with this male and several times just missed getting a photo of this unusual behaviour as he was very skittish only staying in the same place for a few seconds. At one point he landed on me briefly and we were then joined by a female who displayed very furtive behaviour in the sallows. It was just as well she disappeared as Colin suddenly appeared again with his net and asked if I had seen anything! I was actually looking for Purple Hairstreak tonight, but as Mark said 'beggars can't be choosers'

[David M]

Purple Emperors on nectar sources are rare things indeed!

I wonder whether their emergence into this hot weather blitz may have confused their sensibilities and made them do things they normally wouldn't?

[Mark Tutton]

Hi Pauline - I too have bumped into this gent on a couple of occasions and he always has the same story about just wanting to collect a couple of females to boost his breeding stock. He normally visits midweek. He is indeed doing something illegal if he does not have the permission of the landowner - pretty obvious really. Additionally one character, who i have bumped into at Alice regularly appears at 'insect fairs' selling PE larvae labled as 'from british stock' which presumably have come from wild individuals. This Could also be construed as illegal under Section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act which makes it illegal to collect PE for sale. Bearing in mind some of the hearsay I have heard about the forestry commission owning the copyright of all photos taken in their wood I am sure they might have something to say about the removal of the insects themselves!
By all accounts trying to pair captive PE is a pretty gruesome affair which can involve mutilating the insects to get them to stay paired
Unfortunately have come across three 'collectors' this year.
Bet you are regretting the 'hairstreak incedent' now Mark

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline, I love your Purple Emperor on the fern fronds

A bit worrying to hear about this guy with the net, I must admit I have only come across one person with a net so far this year. I was in the Wyre Forest in early June when I saw a chap walking towards me carryin a net. As soon as he saw me he 'about turned' and walked off quickly down another ride.

All the best,

Neil.

[Pauline]

Yes, I am kicking myself David, that I missed those shots. The butterfly looked amazing on the top of a single thistle head with wings outstretched and equally photogenic on a grass head about a foot from the ground! I have to say that in each of these positions he only remained about 3/4 seconds and as I was stood well back to give him time to settle I didn't get the shot .

I have been regretting the 'hairstreak incident' ever since it happened Mark!! Why didn't I just ask you to lift me up instead

Thank you Neil. Unfortunately, this is the 4th time I have encountered nets this year, twice being at Wrecclesham, which does make me wonder wether there was any truth in the other 'netter's' comments that the Glanville's had been collected and removed

I was never happy with the last batch of Chalkhill photos taken in harsh sun so yesterday morning I was out early and on Chalton Down by 5.40am. By the time I found the Chalkhills roosting the sun was already up and they were starting to open their wings. By 6.00am the whole area was alive with Chalkhills - it looked like a group orgy was taking place with mating pairs in danger of being stood on all over. By 7.00am the sun was once again much too bright so it was home for breakfast. I was pleased to have found one individual covered in dew before the sun came up and dried them out as that was one of my aims in getting there so early.

This butterfly was bathed in a soft, golden glow as the sun came up:

[Cotswold Cockney]

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By all accounts trying to pair captive PE is a pretty gruesome affair which can involve mutilating the insects to get them to stay paired
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Then you have been viewing the wrong accounts. Captive paired Apaturinae stay together for 1.75 to 2.5 hours before seperating. Seperation before that time is rare and usually results in a failure to the transfer of the male's spermatophore. It is easy to confirm a successful transfer using a x10 hand lens of the type used by antique dealers. Trying to use an immature male with a too freshly emerged female invariably results in failure. There's a reason why most males emerge a week or so before the females.

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Additionally one character, who i have bumped into at Alice regularly appears at 'insect fairs' selling PE larvae labled as 'from british stock' which presumably have come from wild individuals.
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Almost certainly the same chap who wrote to me over thirty years ago when he was a student asking about my technique for obtaining successful pairings of the Apaturinae in captivity. I do not know if he was able to succeed with what I told him but, he did manage it eventually.

Anyone collecting wild specimens for sale later would have to work extremely hard, spend much time not to mention use lots of fuel to make it worthwhile. I do not think it can be done. Try it, be amazed if you find it profitable and you will soon give up ...

With good husbandry throughout the year in captivity from the egg to the successful pairing ~ twelve months dedication ~ a healthy female can lay probably in excess of 200 ova. Almost certainly that many are laid in the wild by a healthy female too. How many of those wild laid ova produce adults twelve months later? Two or three if they're lucky. In captivity, 200 ova can be 200 adults. Huge amount of time and TLC required though ... for years.

In winter, I have visited areas in the woodlands where I've seen females laying the previous summer. During those visits, large flocks of insectivorous feeding birds systematically work their way through the bare shrubs and trees seeking something to feed on. Maybe a dozen different flocks of birds each day throughout the larva's months of hibernation. Larvae survival in late summer-autumn is from my observations quite high. Most insect feeding birds have reared their young by that time so do not collect the 1000s of small moth and butterfly larvae to sustain their broods. I strongly suspect, that is where most of those 200 wild hibernating individuals end up... in the hungry stomachs of small birds during the hard winter months. Otherwise we'd be up to our necks in Purple Emperors ... now there's a thought ..

It is possible to see a Purple Emperor any day of the year. If you know where to look.

EDIT to add :~

For the benefit of those sufficiently interested and those doubters I'm adding an image of a captive pairing of Apatura iris ~ The Purple Emperor.



Although I have been to Alice Holt many times years ago, I have never taken a single specimen from that locality. I did kill one though, a female of the largest Horse Fly we have in the former much more greener and pleasant which fancied some of my red stuff...

Those Apatura iris could not have come from anywhere farther away from Alice Holt as is possible. They are from the eastern range extremity of this very widespread and common butterfly in the world. They are the South Korean race A. iris. insularis almost identical to our butterfly except fresh specimens sometimes have a very noticeable and beautiful mauve or violet sheen on the undersides of the hind wings. I bred several generations of this butterfly back in the 1980s along with a dozen plus species of Apaturinae including our own single representative of this fabulous butterfly family. Here are a paired couple of the South Korean species Apatura ( Chitoris ) ulupi which has the Celtis ( Ulmacae ) as their larval foodplant.



As can be seen from this picture, the sexes are strongly sexually dimorphic. All the males I bred were of the form which resembles loosely the Gulf Fritillary at first glance. Never seen or bred one but was informed by Oriental contacts that another male form exists with colouring not unlike our own UK representative. All the females on the upperside resemble our butterfly but, as can be seen, the underside colouring is very different but the pattern is similar.



The earlier stages are colonial prior to hibernation. Here are some ova and young larvae on one of my potted Celtis.





The above fully grown larva and pupa is an example of a second brood. A rare event which also happens with our butterfly. Over the years breeding various butterflies, I'm convinced several univoltine species produce the occasional second brood individual as part of the natural variation and selection process. It may happen in the wild too as my captive rearing closely follows wild conditions except predators are excluded.

Anyone contemplating breeding these more demanding species should be aware of the total care, devotion and attention required 24/7/365. Including 3am inspections and checks for and predators which appear at any time, usually at night. To see a large spider trying to penetrate netting with it's fangs to reach a suspended pupa is always a nasty thing to observe, particularly if it is successful .. 'appens..

The logistics required to handle large number throughout the year is considerable. Summer holidays and even the occasional field trips are out when your attention is needed elsewhere with the livestock :~









Finally, reading many of the posts here on UKB, there appears to be a hardcore of enthusiasts who bad mouth or at least view poorly anything that smacks of the dreaded word ... "Collecting" ...

Less than one hundred years ago. Just about every household had a cabinet or display case with wild specimens on display, all obtained either by gun, trap or nets. Even during the late 1940s and early 1950s as a small boy I was encouraged by my elders and schoolmasters to get a net and get out their in a healthy pursuit. Even the late great Peter Scott who shot more wildfowl than most ever had, set up a Nature Reserve at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. Even the late I.R.P Heslop of "notes and Views of .. " had more wild caught specimens of the Purple Emperor in his collection than most see in their lifetime. However, he was instrumental in setting up a reserve within the Bentley Woods complex for this butterfly. My observations over the past fifty years of the management operations of that woodland indicates that without that reserve, that fine butterfly may not be there today.

Had it not been for those old collectors and the specimens they passed on to museums when they passed on, we would have no idea what a genuine Cotswold Large Blue looks like. Those successful introductions in the west country locations are all fine and very interesting but, they will never be the real McCoy to the purist in me.

Hands up all those who believe the reason indigenous Large Blues no longer fly in their numerous Cotswold haunts was all the doing of collectors...

Hmmmm ... that many... no bluddy wonder.

...

P.S. All the above pictures are digital images of 6" x 4" prints taken with a small compact digital camera. No such technology available back in those distant days. What a boon it would have been had it been ...
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