Emperor's new clothes

A cousin of my wife phoned yesterday afternoon to say that he had taken a photograph of a rather striking butterfly in his Slinfold, West Sussex, garden. Would I mind taking a look, he wondered? As I waited for the photograph to be emailed to me, I pondered as to what it might be. I knew that he has more than a passing interest in wildlife, so thought that at least a photograph of a Painted Lady may arrive, possibly a hairstreak. I didn't expect this...


Slinfold is a village well endowed with trees, although I do not know exactly how close the nearest colony of Purple Emperor is. All I know is that I would have turned cartwheels had one chosen to alight in my modest suburban plot.

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