Tuesday 25 November 2014

The African Queen.

More commonly known as the Plain Tiger but also has the title of African Queen or African Monarch, as well as several others perhaps.
It is a beautiful butterfly with the male smaller than the female but more brightly coloured. Apart from size and colour intensity the male can be distinguished by the presence of a black scent producing pouch located on the lower- centre of the hind wing.On the underside this feature appears as a black patch with a white centre.This can be noticed in two of the following photographs
I have as yet only had the pleasure of seeing the Plain Tiger(Danaus chrysippus) in Egypt which seems to be very apt as this species was the first ever butterfly recorded in art, on  a three thousand five hundred year old Egyptian fresco in Luxor..
This species can however be found in certain areas around the Mediterranean including Greece as well as Africa and right across Asia where it is very common.
In fact at least one has turned up on the Isle of Wight as the individual pictured in the last photo was snapped by a visitor to the Newtown Nature Reserve in 2011.(Thanks to Andy Butler for providing the photo.)






Wednesday 19 November 2014

Thinking of Next Year.

Now that the winter is fast approaching my thoughts turn to next year and what I can look forward to seeing.Of course the first possible treat would be to see the return to our local woodland rides of the Large Tortoiseshell from early March onwards depending on the kindness of the weather.
If I am fortunate enough to visit the Greek Islands in May the wonderful sight of the Cleopatra awaits.This butterfly of the Mediterranean resembles the Brimstone in general shape and pattern but is larger in size.
Above all, the males have an extensive orange flush across the fore-wings that can be seen when in flight.This dazzling butterfly hibernates over the winter and appears again in the spring just as the first flowers are coming into bloom.