Duke of Burgundy ab. gracilans. Photo: Mark Pike
Mark tells us he has seen this aberration at Giant Hill (Cerne Abbas) for the last two or three years, but this is the first decent shot he has been able to get of it. It is much more orange than the usual Duke.
Dukes are only on the wing for a short time, so if you want to see them, get over to Cerne Abbas soon!
It’s a superb picture from Mark! Although individual butterflies are short-lived for just a few days, emergence takes place over a staggered period of time from early May until mid-June. On Giant Hill there are colonies extending over 1km of managed habitat and first sightings this season were by Jane Newdick during her transect walk on 30 April.