⛅️22C Wednesday 10th July 2019 ~A morning visit to Fermyn Woods Country Park near Kettering with Alan Boddington.
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| Male Purple Emperor |
The main reason for our visit was the magnificent and extremely elusive male
Purple Emperor. More often than not views are restricted to treetop level where they feed on aphid honeydew and tree sap. However, if you're lucky, particularly in the early morning the males will descend to the ground, where they probe for salts either from road surfaces or from animal dung, the latter of which in this instance was the case.
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| Male Purple Emperor wing pattern |
We managed probably just three specimens during our stay, the one photographed, plus at least two others in the canopy. An enjoyable visit but it was a surprise to only encounter three
White Admiral and just a single
Gatekeeper. Although there were plenty of whites on the wing I didn't manage to locate any
Green-veined.
List of Species for the Visit...
Large White (11), Small White (13), Brimstone (1), Purple Emperor (3), White Admiral (3), Red Admiral (2), Painted Lady (1), Comma (4), Silver-washed Fritillary (17), Marbled White (N), Ringlet (N), Meadow Brown (N), Gatekeeper (1), Speckled Wood (1), Purple Hairstreak (7), Essex Skipper (1), Small Skipper (15), Large Skipper (7), Silver Y Moth (1), Brown Hawker (5), Southern Hawker (2), Four-spot Chaser (6)...
*N depicts too numerous to count!
INATURALIST UPLOAD..
Other Images of the Day...
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| Red Kite ~ Always a treat when visiting this area |
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| Silver-washed Fritillary |
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| Essex Skipper |
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| Four-spot Chaser |
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| Magnificent Male Purple Emperor |
