June 1999
The Suffolk Argus
Large Blue (Maculinea teleius), a species new to me. Taking another look at the locality I found it moist underfoot, and I did flush a second specimen out. La Laye turned out to be at the foot of a delightful isolated valley, and quite the perfect place for walking and entomologising alike. Our next morning's drive took us through deciduous woodland with lovel'f vi~wsand we looped back down into the ~l~'f wiere I was confronted by a Purple Empecorsining in the road. I jammed on the brakes and stopped a couple of metres from it, leapt out, grabbed the net and dashed forward again to find that it was a fine male sitting totally absorbed on a dog's dropping! This time it was Apatura iris (as distinct from ilis) and it had probably come down to the adjacent malodorous garbage heap before detecting this particular delicacy. Once again, both Sa/ix and P. tremula were in evidence. The Vosages are more extensive than I had imagined, and they stand up above Alsace offering near Alpine scenery topped with coniferous plantations or extensive deciduous forest. On returning to our car, by now in the full sun, we found a male A. iris had been attracted to it, and we got some excellent close-up views before it flew off. By now my Herve had been expended so I put out mouldy plums and some fresh Camembert as bait. Intrigued at the sight of a lunatic spreading good Camembert on the countryside, a passing Frenchman paused to make enquiries. His incredulity gave way to a Gallic shrug as he discovered that I was an English butterfly collector - clearly this explained any form of irrational behaviour! Presently I spotted a couple of Purple Emperors circling a beech above an aspen and near a willow. I netted one as they swooped low over the road, and offered the bait but could not get it to feed. It was
16
definitely A iris (a male), not A. ilia, and I took pleasure watching the power of its upward flight as I released it. Returning the following day (26th July 1989) we were rewarded by more close encounters. In a glade further up the valley I was astounded by the sheer size of one dark form high up the side of the valley, and excited when it came down from high up the side of the valley, and excited when it came down to ground level at an accessible spot. I stalked it with great care and found it feeding at the base of a conifer, where a stream of sap was oozing from a damaged root. So absorbed was this very large female, that I was able to squat for some minutes just a couple of feet away from it. We saw two more on the path back down to the car. Indeed they seemed friendly and more or less accompanied us back to the car. One settled on the bonnet and then obligingly transferred itself to my wife's finger before my very eyes. At that moment I was converted. I realised that all the unlikely tales that I had read about other people's encounters with A. iris, were afi:er all, true! This account originally appeared in the bulletin of'The Amateur Entomologists' Society' Vol 49 December 1990.
My first Butterfly of 1999 byJames Mann On the morning of Tuesday 16th March 1999 I was out in my garden getting things ready for the Spring. I had just put a match to my bonfire to get rid of a huge pile of rubbish when Anne, my wife, shouted that someone was on the phone wanting to talk about butterflies. I picked up the phone and a voice asked me if it was possible to see a Large Tortoisehell in Suffolk at this time of the year. I replied that it was possible but unlikely as it was some years since one had been sighted in Suffolk. I was told 'we think we have one' and was given directions to their house in the vicinity of Snape. I dropped everything, grabbed my camera and mobile phone and was there in less than twenty minutes. . I arrived just before I lam and was met by a smiling Paddy and J ulyan Heazell waiting for me in their driveway. As I feared I was told that 'It was here but it was gone'. They showed me where it had been seen and we stood looking at the blossoms and then suddenly it was there just above our heads happily
nectaring and taking no notice of us. It was very co-operative and moved down to eye level and I was able to take several close up photographs. When it cooled a bit it flew up and perched on the warm tiles on the next door roof. I phoned Richard Stewart, Suffolk Butterfly Recorder and Rob Macklin R.S.P.B warden at North Warren to get them to verify the sighting. The butterfly, that I was now certain was a Large Tortoiseshell, decided to nectar on blossom some 20 feet above our heads and was still there when I left for home at 12-30. Richard and Rob both saw it around I o'clock and were able to verify the species but they did not have my luck in getting at a level to photograph. The Heazell's last saw it flying off in the late afternoon when it got fed up with being chased by a Blue Tit. Not bad for my first butterfly of the year.
Large Tortoiseshell byJames Mann
5
