SWEET PAINTED LADIES

Paul from the Entomological Livestock group


wrote last night:


The migration of Cynthia cardui has reached Melton Mowbray (I've just been informed) with around 10 individuals spotted, heading north.... and verystrong numbers still flying north through France, 100 per hour near Paris and Nantes.

As I type, you should be seeing good numbers in southern England and with luck, we shaould have them here in the capital (Sheffield) by tomorrow.

I have always found mass migrations of butterflies interesting, and in these sad days when our own native species are becoming more and more impoverished, often as a result of misguided or stupid action on a local governmental level, these mass migrations will seem ever more spectacular. If anyone has pictures of these wonderful creatures in their garden this year please send them to me.

The fact that such delicate creatures fly to our shores each year all the way from the deserts of North Africa is something that I find absolutely enthralling.

This excerpt on the left is taken from the chapter called `Mysteries of Butterfly Migration` in one of my favourite books L. Hugh Newman's Living with Butterflies (1967).

I would have normally typed it out, but I wanted to try out the new scanner that dear Emma donated to the CFZ. I am a notorious technophobe (although nowhere as bad as Richard F who is a complete Luddite to a ridiculous degree), and I am feeling quite proud of myself for having worked out how to use it in a compltely calm and unworried manner. But that is another story..

In the last few years the migratory butterflies seem to have arrived on these shores pretty well as usual. It will be interesting to see, with the changing weather patterns, and most importantly with the considerably improved weather that we have seen this year, whether they will start to breed in the manner that they did back in the good old days.

For more information see this site:
http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/search.php?name=&pl=5&adv=1&ot=&r=0&g=42225&p=3&o=366