Deadly Lavender

by Geoff Hayes

Marbled Whites

The first two weeks of July this year were spent on a family holiday in the Dordogne/ lot region of France. Unfortunately butterfly watching had to take second place to family duties, but meadows with hundreds of Marbled Whites and dozens of Clouded Yellows, Scarce Swallowtails and

Silver-washed Fritillaries could hardly be

ignored. A return visit, with butterflies as a priority, is a definite 'must' for the future.

A large clump of lavender in the garden of our holiday cottage was always worth a 'nicotine watch' (being a pariah sometimes has its uses) as it attracted large numbers of both Scarce Swallowtails and Swallowtails, and amazing numbers of Hummingbird Hawkrnorhs. On one occasion my attention was drawn to a Scarce Swallowtail vigorously beating its wings as if in flight, bur remaining on the lavender. As I moved in for a closer look the wing beats subsided and the butterfly perched with open wings. I then noticed a pale, greenish white blob beneath its thorax. I gently prised it up with a twig and the butterfly toppled co the ground, revealing a female crab spider (Misumenavacia). I would not normally interfere in such a natural event, but having retrieved the now paralysed butterfly I decided to give it to my grandson to add to his collection of road casualties and pool drownings and placed it on a windowsill inside the cottage. Three days later I went to pack it into a box and was surprised to find char although it had not moved before, it was still able to slowly raise its wings and move its legs. Obviously the injection it had received was a very powerful, long acting immobiliser. When we left for home the crab spider was still on the lavender, waiting to ambush another unsuspecting victim - c' est la vie!