Following a wonderfully sunny spring and advanced development of Purple Emperor in stars once emergence started the weather turned really foul with relentless strong winds and rain. Poor weather like this is detrimental to Emperors in terms of survival and finding a mate. Across the south those of the Purple Pursasion have been disappointed by the low numbers and concerned about the impact of the weather on the populations of this most regal of butterflies.
Only having the weekends to visit the woods is equally detrimental to my ability to have made the most of the few suitable days for observation. I stayed local visiting Ditton Park Woods and spending 7 hrs fruitlessly, possibly before emergence. My third and fourth visits yielded a few sightings of 3-4 males and a female. There were flurries of Purple Hairstreak around the oak and Ash crowns and a couple if Silver-washed Frittilaries patrolled the rides. Away from the woods on Ely Common Small Skippers have emerged in numbers and Gatekeeper, Brown Argus, Common Blue and Marbled White are also on the wing.
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