I had followed a fresh female at a distance hoping a male would seek her out, and mate. Following her proved to be difficult at the best of times, as i`m sure you all know. I lost her a couple of times, but managed to locate her again on each occasion. Eventually a Eagle eyed male spotted her, she had landed in some vegetation below a dead stem. The male flew in, landing beside her, facing the same way.
Now this male was a sneaky little fellow, every now and again he would curl/bend his abdomen towards the females abdomen,touching it, she would flinch and move slightly away, maybe one or two mm. He would repeat this procedure until she succumbed to his charms. Well, it definitely was`nt his good looks.
Eventually she dragged him up the dead stem for a spot of sun.
21.8.2011 065-1_1.jpg
Presumably bored with the whole thing.
Here is another picture i took on the same day.
21.8.2011 102-1_1.jpg
I was hoping to get a shot like Mark`s and Neil`s excllent pictures. Maybe next time.
Mark and Chris, the male`s eyes are bigger than the females as you can see clearly in the photo where they are mating.
Rather like the Wood White, the males eyes are bigger than the females.
Nick.