Purple Emperor
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| Apatura iris (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Purple Emperor (Apatura iris) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in woodlands throughout Central Europe and southern Britain. Adults have dark brown wings with white lines and a small orange ring on each of the hindwings. Males have an iridescent purple-blue sheen which the females lack. The caterpillars are green with white and yellow markings and have two large horns.
Females spend most of their lives in the tree canopy coming down only to lay their eggs. Males also spend much of their time in the tree tops, defending their territory from rivals, though they will sometimes descend in order to drink from puddles or feed. Unlike most butterflies, the purple emperor does not feed from flowers but instead on the honeydew secreted by aphids and on dung, urine and animal carcasses.
Eggs are laid in late summer on the upper side of sallow leaves. After hatching the caterpillars will lie on the midrib of the leaf where they are well camouflaged, and feed only at night. During the winter they hibernate in the forks of sallow branches where they change colour from green to brown in order to match their surroundings. The following June they will form a pale green chrysalis that resembles a leaf shoot. The adult will then usually emerege in mid-July.
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