Soooo Lucky …

… to see 2 Lesser Purple Emperors flying down by the Gouille lake where I had gone for a swim. TonyG was very glad he hadn’t stayed at home to pack and must have taken a hundred shots of this rare and beautiful butterfly. He will blip it when he gets home. This is a male and maybe the extra is a female … let me know you experts. Of course it could be the same as the upperside of the male Purple Emperor looks different depending on the light: from dusky brown/black through to an iridescent purple. The female does not have this purple sheen, but has bolder markings apparently.

However there is another extra of what might be an even rarer butterfly, The Woodland Brown, spotted after Tony had gone and I had a meeting with Pro Natura Vaud as they would like me to keep an eye open for things that might need doing in their Antagnes reserves and keep a record of observations that I make, particularly if I see this butterfly. I had to use it as an extra in case I don’t see it again! (we live only a kilomètre away from where this is.) 

Hopefully normal commenting service will be resumed tomorrow, Tony has worn me out! The sign of an excellent week!