[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]This shimmering Purple Emperor butterfly was photographed by Dean Eades at Fermyn Woods in Northamptonshire. Purple Emperors are large, beautiful and extremely elusive butterflies. Most sightings consist of a flash of purple and black high up around the tree tops. If you want to see them closer to earth the best time is mid-morning when they sometimes drop down to feed on dung or possibly a rotting carcass!
Scientific name: Apatura iris
Size: Wingspan approximately 75mm
Distribution: Found mainly in southern and central England and the borders of Wales
Months seen: Late June to early September
Life span: Up to four weeks
Habitat: Woodlands
Food: Honeydew, sap, rotting fruit, dung and rotting carcasses for salts and minerals
Special features: Purple Emperors get their name from the irridescent purple colouring on the upper surfaces of the males wings. The female lacks the purple coloring but has larger white markings. Both the male and female Purple Emperor have eye-spot markings on the undersides of the wings, as well as a smaller eye spot on the upper surfaces of the hind wings.
Purple emperors are rarely seen on the ground except when feeding. They are best spotted through binoculars as they fly around the tops of oak trees.
The green caterpillars have pale yellow oblique stripes on their sides and two pale green horns on the head, giving them a slug-like shape. They feed on sallow.
Sightings
2000 - Cilgerran, Cardigan - G. Bradley
2013 - Fermyn Woods, Northamptonshire - Dean Eades
Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:26 am
