Today A Purple Emperor dropped by for Sunday Lunch

I have a friend staying for the weekend.
This morning, while doing some gardening, I noticed a large, unfamiliar butterfly circling over the roof.
"Flippin' heck" I said ( or similar words starting with the same letters)
"I think it's a Purple Emperor" - (one of the most rare and illusive butterflies in the UK)
She kept watch while I rushed into the house to get my camera, by which time it had settled on the tiles of the roof of the house.
We watched it bask in the sun for a good 15 minutes or so before it took off, but the photos I managed were of poor quality due to the distance.

Half an hour later it was back, this time it settled on the north wall of my cottage, where is proceeded to use its proboscis to suck salts or nutrients from the cement between the bricks in the wall, for about 10 minutes, as you can see here.

The quality of this image is not as good as I'd hoped as the wall was in the shade. With the sun shining above it as I pointed the camera upwards, and the setting on auto, the camera struggled with the light.

After taking several shots, I went to get the ladder from the shed, in order to get closer, but when only on the bottom step, it once more flew away.

I took one more shot as it alighted briefly on a shrub which was much better quality, but only showed the underside of its wings. - I have added this and others to my blipfolio.

This is a male Purple Emperor, its wings showing the most amazing colouration. They tend to fly high in the canopy of mature trees, but occasionally come to the ground to feed on minerals.

It is the first one I have ever seen.

Many butterfly enthusiasts make pilgrimages to known sites to view these magnificent butterflies.

How lucky were we that this one decided to pop in for lunch chez moi today!!