19/10/2009

THE PURPLE EMPEROR

Rockingham Forest in the rural heart of Northamptonshire is an area of some 200 square miles. The woods are the remnants of a once huge forest covering a much bigger area.

It is home to the rare Purple Emperor butterfly (Apatura iris) which is found in deciduous woodlands in southern England.

This large dark brown butterfly has a small orange ring on each hindwing. Males have beautifully-coloured iridescent wings with a blue/purple sheen when they catch the light.

The larvae of the butterfly hibernate on willow buds or in forked tree branches and then pupate hanging from leaves.

The female butterfly spends its time up in the tree tops of the woodland and descends only to lay her eggs. The males also spend a lot of their time high in the tree canopy, occasionally coming down to feed or drink from small pools of water, puddles or damp earth.

The Purple Emperor is so rare people travel hundreds of miles for the chance of a glimpse. To improve your chances though the best bet is to lay out some rotting fish or over-ripe cheese. That’s because this butterfly turns its proboscis up at flowers, preferring some smelly protein or minerals.

In particular it likes to feed on the honeydew secreted by aphids, and also from dung, urine and decaying animal carcasses.