After mating the elusive female Purple Emperor Apatura iris descends from the tree-tops and searches for a suitable tree for egg-laying. She usually lays her single egg on the upperside of a leaf, in a shady spot near the crown of a Sallow Salix sp. I stumbled across this approachable beauty resting at eye level on a Goat Willow Salix caprea at Bernwood a few years ago, on a boiling hot morning in early July.
Purple Emperor Apatura iris - Bernwood (13/07/2008)
Purple Emperor Apatura iris - Bernwood (13/07/2008)
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