Tuesday 24 July 2012

Purple Haze, all in my mind

Bernwood Forest, this morning. I was searching for Purple Emperors. These guys for Purple Hearts:

It was a strange morning. Things were jumping out all over the place:


But I met some good people, including Oliver Cooper (above), who took this remarkable picture of his arm last week. Oliver introduced me to Dave, who co-ordinates counts of Purple Emperor butterflys. Today Dave was walking through the forest wearing a pair of yellow marigolds and carrying a bag of Fox faeces, fresh from Mrs Tiggy Winkle's animal rescue centre. I kid you not. Dave then smeared Fox faeces at strategic points in order to attract the butterflys. Usually Purple Emperor butterflies, despite their regal name, feed on dog faeces, so I assume Fox faeces were a nice change. To make things really neat, Dave also left a little blue spoon by each pile, so you knew you were close to really fresh Emperor food:

And so, with the military manoeuvres, yellow marigolds and Fox faeces out of the way, my search for The Emperor began. In fact, this being a good year for sightings, it was not too difficult to find one and in traditional style my first male was feeding hungrily on a fresh dog turd a little way up the main track. I was determined to get some photographs of what the UK Butterflies website describes as a "magnificent and elusive insect". However, I was equally determined not to photograph the dog turd. So I waited and as always, patience paid off:




But where was the purple? Unfortunately for me today was hot. Really hot. And too hot, even by 11am, for the Emperors. When perching they actively sought out shade, making capturing the iridescence tricky. I got close on a few occasions, but could not, in the time available, capture a full spread of blue in the way I had hoped:


Here is some video action of Purple Emperor Butterflies holding their wings tightly closed:


By lunchtime it was time to depart, but even the carpark held butterfly interest, with 3 White Admirals and this enigmatically posing Purple Hairstreak:

2 comments:

  1. We are urgently in need of Kidney donors with the sum of $500,000.00
    Email: Email: ( hospitalcarecenter@gmail.com )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Sir / Madam,

    We offer all kind of loans - Business Loan / Real Estate Project
    -Financing

    We are a comprehensive financial
    services firm committed to helping our clients improve their
    long-term financial success.

    Our customized programs are designed to help grow, protect, and
    conserve our client's wealth by delivering a superior level of
    personalized service.

    We're Investment/Finance firm that specialized in project funding
    & General financial service offer.Our principal function would be
    assist you in complete financing through our reputable Lending
    Institutions.

    We are open to having a good business relationship with you. We
    are currently interested in funding viable businesses,
    investments or projects in the following areas of interest:

    * Starting up a Franchise
    * Business Acquisition
    * Business Expansion
    * Capital / Infrastructural Project
    * Commercial Real Estate purchase
    * Contract Execution
    * Trade Financing etc.
    * Want to be an Agent / Broker?

    - Intermediaries/Consultants/Brokers are welcome to bring their
    clients and are 100% protected.

    We encourage you to contact us and learn more about the loans
    service we offered.

      FOR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE AND PROCESSING OF YOUR LOAN REQUEST WITHIN 2 WORKING DAYS,
    Contact us directly through this email: lydiamooncooperativeloan@gmail.com


    Contact us with the following information:

    Full Name:____________________________
    Amount Needed as Loan:________________
    Loan Duration:_________________________
    Purpose for Loan:______________________
    Date of Birth:___________________________
    Gender:_______________________________
    Marital status:__________________________
    Contact Address:_______________________
    City/Zip code:__________________________
    Country:_______________________________
    Occupation:____________________________
    Mobile Phone:__________________________

    Send your request for immediate response to: lydiamooncooperativeloan@gmail.com

    Thank you.
    LYDIA MOON
    Director.
    LYDIA MOON CO-OPERATIVE LOAN COMPANY

    ReplyDelete