Emperoring at Knepp

For people wanting to discover Knepp Wildlands - 

1  The key area is the 1750 acre block south of the A272 and west of the A24, south of Shipley and west of Dial Post.  

2  Emperors are to be seen around all the sallow thickets, and especially on the leeward side of oaks.

3  Crucially, for photographers: Emperors rarely descend to the ground at Knepp. If you want photos of upper sides go to Fermyn Woods, Northants, where the population is almost as large and both sexes feed readily on the ride floor. The Knepp Emperors are primarily sap run feeders (which may explain why they are so incredibly violent - they're plastered on fermented sap...). At Knepp, you will obtain photos of territorial males perched on relatively low oak trees, from below, only. 

4  Access.  Visitors are welcome.  Please park in the Safari / Camp Site car park to the NW of Dial Post, Satnav RH13 8NN. There are loos there. Elsewhere, parking is very limited or non-existent (and the road verges are very soft this season).  Note that this is a big site and that walking is difficult, due to heavily poached clay - those with wobbly knees or ankles may struggle (I do).

5  Maps of recommended Emperor routes are available at Reception. I've produced maps and recording forms covering named and numbered territories along a recommended route - effectively a Purple Emperor transect. Please complete a form and leave it at Reception. We'll use the data at Knepp, and get it through to BC HQ and BC Sussex.  

6  This is an 'early' site. My guess is that iris will be scarce there after July 20th this year and gone by August.   

7  Neil and I are leading Purple Emperor Safaris (+ seriously good picnic) for the estate over the next few weekends. There are still some spaces available. See www.kneppsafaris.co.uk. Neil and I are both volunteers at Knepp.   

8  Definitely no nets (you'd need at least a 20' net handle anyway, and there are a lot of staff on hand).  

Emperoring at Knepp

For people wanting to discover Knepp Wildlands - 

1  The key area is the 1750 acre block south of the A272 and west of the A24, south of Shipley and west of Dial Post.  

2  Emperors are to be seen around all the sallow thickets, and especially on the leeward side of oaks.

3  Crucially, for photographers: Emperors rarely descend to the ground at Knepp. If you want photos of upper sides go to Fermyn Woods, Northants, where the population is almost as large and both sexes feed readily on the ride floor. The Knepp Emperors are primarily sap run feeders (which may explain why they are so incredibly violent - they're plastered on fermented sap...). At Knepp, you will obtain photos of territorial males perched on relatively low oak trees, from below, only. 

4  Access.  Visitors are welcome.  Please park in the Safari / Camp Site car park to the NW of Dial Post, Satnav RH13 8NN. There are loos there. Elsewhere, parking is very limited or non-existent (and the road verges are very soft this season).  

5  Maps of recommended Emperor routes are available at Reception. I've produced maps and recording forms covering named and numbered territories along a recommended route - effectively a Purple Emperor transect. Please complete a form and leave it at Reception. We'll use the data at Knepp, and get it through to BC HQ and BC Sussex.  

6  This is an 'early' site. My guess is that iris will be scarce there after July 20th this year and gone by August.   

7  Neil and I are leading Purple Emperor Safaris (+ seriously good picnic) for the estate over the next few weekends. There are still some spaces available. See www.kneppsafaris.co.uk. Neil and I are both volunteers at Knepp.   

8  Obviously, no nets (you'd need at least a 20' net handle anyway).  

Kicking Off and Kicking Out

It doesn't take long for all that pent-up aggression to spill out, having been imprisoned in a pupa for nearly three weeks. I arrived at Knepp at 3.30pm. I saw my first adult iris of the year at 3.35pm. By 3.40pm it had attacked a Black-headed Gull, a Purple Hairstreak and a second Emperor.

 

I only had 20 minutes on site before the weather collapsed  and I covered only 250m of the Knepp Castle Estate Wildland. However, I still managed to see five individual males, the third of which was also harassing hairstreaks. A different Purple Emperor seen on average every four minutes, while travelling over an average distance of 50m, and observed attacking innocent biodiversity at an average rate of one victim per 6 minutes 40 seconds, suggests a strong start to the season here. Numbers should be very good by the time of the first Knepp Purple Emperor Safari at the weekend www.kneppsafaris.co.uk

 

 

Doings at Knepp 28th June

I saw two males sallow searching during an hour in mid-morning (then had to leave to do some work, which was a trifle inconvenient).

Neil arrived in mid-afternoon and managed to see five males in 20 minutes before the sun was lost for the day.  Then a spell of heavy rain arrived.  It must be added that Neil spent yesterday photographing an insignificant butterfly in the Cotswolds.  In consequence, he has been elected President of the Entomological Riff-Raff Club.   


On this day 40 years ago, I saw the first males of the incredible 1976 Purple Emperor season...

Herts and Middlesex

Andrew and I checked out Ruislip today between 1 and 2. There was sufficient sun should Purple Emperor be flying there, for them to make an appearance we felt but they didn't. If anyone is interested in seeing Purple Emperor at Hampstead Heath, there will be a visit there on Sunday 10th July lead by Andrew with Frank Nugent. Full details are available on the HMBC website http://www.hertsmiddx-butterflies.org.uk/fieldtrips-new.php Have a good season everyone Liz

Not iris but ilia

Like all wise rulers preparing for battle it makes sense to send out scouts to survey the battleground . Last week in St Dizier , France this is what has taken place with HIM sending out Ilia before making an appearance . Several males were seen patrolling the willows around the edge of a lake , one of them being very obliging . Sadly i returned to GB before HIM showed up .

We're off!

Greetings from the 2016 Purple Emperor season, which kicked off today at Knepp Wildlands, West Sussex, with three males (the first exploring the oak tops at 3.05, then a vicious thug of a male which attacked me at 3.45, then one going into roost in the oak crowns at 5.15).

In addition, Rob Hill saw a male on territory at Hill Farm Territory on Bookham Common, Surrey, at 3.35.  

I think these are the first nationally (and rather hope so as I've never managed to see the first of the season, at least in the modern era).  

This is very early days, though, so don't expect a plethora of sightings in the next few days.  I doubt this is going to be a particularly good season, but a great deal depends on flight season weather - which can only improve...

Does My Cremaster Look Big In This?

Here is a photograph of Raymonda, the Knepp media tartlet, following her latest costume change. She threw on something less comfortable knowing that the TV cameras were turning up today, although you'll have to wait until late summer before she appears on the box.

With the exception of Duke of Burgundy (which went bonkers) no species of butterfly has performed well yet this year in Sussex. The same fate may befall Him/Herself, but there will be more at Knepp than anywhere else, with the possible exception of the Mighty Fermyn.

Inappropriate Dress

A gentle reminder about our dress code...

You should know that it is grossly inappropriate to appear in an Emperor site dressed like this - 

In this instance the offending logo was successfully covered up -

But if it happens again the offender's guts will be splayed out on a tree stump for His Imperial Majesty to feast upon...

Apatura iris, of course, possesses one of the biggest egos in the universe, and a violent temper.  Don't upset the powers that be...

Pupating...

The Knepp Wildlands larva (known as 'Raymond') whose antics have been chronicled on this blog since last September spent the weekend pupating, and revealed itself to be Raymonda...

She'd travelled 4.5m up tree to pupate towards the end of a branch. Here she is on Sat 18th, spinning a silk pad -

She didn't mind being manipulated for photography, and carried on slowly spinning silk.  (She's must be the most photographed Purple Emperor caterpillar of all time, and a true media tart).  

Today, Sunday, she had turned around, attached her back end to the pad she'd spun, and was ready to swing free and transform - 

Here she is photographed from below, when the branch (which comes down easily) had been gently released - 

Given that the insect spends on average 18 days in the pupal state, she's likely to emerge circa July 8th.  But note that she's probably a late-emerger as she fed throughout on the shady side of a tree - most larvae move to the sunny side in spring, and progress quicker. 

My guess is that the first males will start to emerge in Sussex and Surrey on July 1st (given that the forecast for the next five days is poor).  

Watch this space, something Big will happen...

Fasciating A.ilia!

L3 A.ilia on a rare, fasciated Populus nigra Italica leaf.

Prospects for the 2016 Purple Emperor Season

My predictions for the forthcoming season -

1  They're unlikely to start before 1st July, as larvae came out of hibernation and commenced feeding late due to the cold April, and have since been further held up by periods of cold weather.  This timing could change if we get a very hot June, so there is a chance of the first males appearing at early sites in late June (e.g. in Sussex and Surrey).  

At present, larvae at Knepp in West Sussex are only in the early to mid stages of the final instar - they need another week of feeding, time to pupate, and then an average 18 days as pupae.  

2  Numbers may not be high because last year's egg lay was poor, larval mortality in the autumn was unusually high, there was another pulse of mortality in late winter, and spring was fairly inclement (with many cold evenings, which inhibited feeding).

But much depends on flight season weather and I predicted a poor emergence in 2013, only for the butterfly to emerge in remarkably good numbers.  Also, there's no such thing as a bad Purple Emperor season: other species have bad seasons, this one only deals in superlatives... 

Watch this space for updates...

Here's a mid-final instar larva I found at Knepp on Monday (named 'Sir Vauncey Harpur Crewe' after the most barking mad and OCD collector of all time...) -

Growing up

All the caterpillars I can still locate are now 5th instar. In this instar they wander a lot and it has been hard keeping track of them. I cannot find Gautama, who was the first to reach 5th grade, but have no reason to believe he has not simply moved higher up the tree.

Of those I can still find, Kisāgotamī is the most mature. She turned 5th instar on the night of 21st-22nd May and so is about one week away from moving off to pupate. This was her this evening:

This picture shows how difficult it is to spot a cat even when it is as big as her:

She's in there ...

This is Rāhula, who shed his skin this morning:

The last two are Kanthaka and Svapna, both photographed yesterday:

Guy