www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

padfield wrote:I shall do Pete! Every stage of the purple emperor is magnificent, isn't it - even the egg!

As you know, I'm off back to England on Tuesday so I can only hope there is a tiny caterpillar somewhere on the bush when I return ...

Guy

Lets hope so ~ that egg is certainly fertile ~ when first laid they are a uniform dull pale green and stay that way if infertile. If fertile, they start to 'colour up' within two days and develope banded colour zones until about two weeks later, you can see traces of the little larva inside. They inavriably eat their egg shells as a first meal leaving a small shiney egg base disc as the only evidence remianing. The little larva usually moves to the elaf tip of the same leaf although, if for some reason it does not like it, will move to another closeby.
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