All Things Bright and Beautiful

Wednesday 7th July 2010

We have just got back from walking a section of Creeks and Coombs around Ningwood and Cranmore.
We spent some time watching a spectacular male Purple Emperor butterfly patrolling along a hedge line dipping down from a line of oak trees to feed on nectar from a bramble and privet flower patch. We were lucky enough to see him have a dog fight with another male when they met while searching for females.
We diverted off the footpath into a small meadow and sat surrounded by the long grass and knapweed listening to the buzz of the insects and the grasshoppers all around.
We watched as drifts of butterflies floated past mainly Meadow Browns, Marbled whites and a few large Skippers we also saw a comma and a number of Burnet moths.
The particularly long spell this summer of warm weather with little rain or high winds seems to have benefitted the Island?s butterflies as numbers look to be good.

Just when we thought things could not get any better we were amazed to see a solitary Swallowtail butterfly admittedly it looked a little jaded and tatty around the edges but certainly a first sighting on the Island for me.
Compared to the ones we have seen in Italy it was pale and slightly smaller than I remember, but lively and a powerful flyer.
At first I thought I was seeing things as it looked so out of place in the meadow but after doing some research I discovered that the Swallow tail or Papilio Machaon is a very rare visitor from the Continent.
Recorded sightings are only ever the odd one or two so we feel very fortunate. If anyone else is lucky to catch a glimpse of it on the Island let us know.