This very tired-looking Duke of Burgundy turned up in a very surprising place: Continue reading
Duke of Burgundy. Photo: David Parish
Spotted by David on Cerne Giant Hill on 16 May. He also looked for them on Black Hill, but to no avail.
Duke of Burgundy. Photo: Mark Wright
A lovely shot of a Duke by Mark, taken at Cerne Giant Hill, which has the only publicly accessible colony of this butterfly in Dorset. Butterfly Conservation Dorset Branch regularly undertakes conservation work on the site to ensure its survival.
Duke of Burgundy. Photo: John Woodruff
Spotted by John on Giant Hill, Cerne Abbas on 16/05/2019. He reports that all the Dukes out were to be see at the base of the hill, in the undergrowth. Catching this specimen among the grass really gives you an idea of how small this butterfly is.
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. Continue reading
Duke of Burgundy. Photo: Richard Belding
Richard has sent us this lovely reminder of last spring, to cheer up these gloomy days. It was taken on Cerne Giant Hill in 2017.
We hope to be seeing His Grace on the wing again in late May – all of the Dukes are chrysalises at the moment.
Could you help stuff newsletters into envelopes on 19 October? Helping the paid staff at Butterfly Conservation Headquarters frees their time to work to help butterflies and moths, like the beautiful ones pictured.
Duke of Burgundy. Photo: Malcolm Wemyss
Malcolm helped out at our butterfly identification day and found himself in competition for taking this photo, which give a great idea of how small the butterfly is. He reports the butterfly was exceptionally docile and remained for a long time, to the benefit of all the students.
The Duke of Burgundy is already on the wing. Adrian Read sent us a couple of photos for our Gallery taken on 29 April, and commented they were earlier than he’d ever know them. Continue reading
Duke of Burgundy. Photo: Adrian Reid.
Duke of Burgundy, Photo: Adrian Reid
Adrian took these lovely shots at Cerne Giant Hill on Saturday 29/04/2017. He commented that this is the earliest he has ever seen them out.