Purple Emperor ©Harry Appleyard, Bucknell Wood, 30 June 2018

The first Purple Emperor of 2019 will take to the air at lunchtime on Friday June 14th, somewhere in Sussex or Surrey. An earlier appearance was on the cards but larval progress has been slowed down by cool nights and evenings during May (at one staged a May emergence was a possibility).

This prediction is based on the progress of larvae being followed in the wild (last year my prediction was less than 24 hours out…).

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The Purple Empire: Prospects and Predictions for the 2019 Purple Emperor Season