www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi, Y'all'

Just back from a week in Marsa Alam on the Red Sea. Apart from one large Brimstone-like butterfly, which tore past me on the first day, the only other butterflies seen were, I think, Plain Tigers. There were plenty of them about, but the only place that I saw them land was on a particular dead shrub (see photo). Although this plant was baked dry, they seemed to be sucking up something from its surface. The wings were only opened momentarily, hence the poor, open-wing shot (well, that's my excuse anyway!). It's certainly a wonderful butterfly and great to be able to watch it so closely.

Yep - definitely Danaus chrysippus! This species also has lots of subspecies. Some info at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danaus_chrysippus

Cheers,

- Pete

A historic sighting!

The oldest known recognisable butterflies in art are some plain tigers in a 3500 year old duck-hunting fresco from Luxor - not a million miles from where you were!

http://saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/19940 ... .egypt.htm

Guy

PS - sorry Pete - just noticed your Wikipedia link mentions the same fresco!

Hi Pete and Guy and many thanks. The links were very interesting. I don't know what it is about butterflies, but we all seem to be linked by a joy in these beautiful and ephemeral insects. Moths are great, but they just don't 'do it' for me in the same way. I have just spent a delightful half hour watching a Red Admiral and a Large White on the Buddleia and still have trouble understanding just what made it so captivating. Certainly, if the Red Admiral had been a rare butterfly, it is so perfectly marked that I am sure it would have been prized by the collectors of old even above the 'Emperor'.

Tony-Paul Sartre

In the newspapers today: the painting of Nebamun duck-hunting, which includes those earliest paintings of plain tigers, is moving to permanent display at the British Museum. I would certainly make a point of visiting it if I were in the area. Here's the pertinent fragment:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... amun-2.jpgGuy

it is remarkable how good the wildlife paintings are & yet how rubbish the depictions of humans are

charles