The previous afternoon, I had been having a lazy day after a few hectic days of Birds, Butterflies, Dragonflies & photography, when I get a call from my mate Peter Moore. Peter had been out walking locally & found an odd Painted Lady. Having got some photos he wanted to talk the Painted Lady over with me. It sounded intriguing, but I decided that as it would be cooling down soon as it was late afternoon, I would leave a trip to the following morning. That evening after completing family duties, Peter forwarded some photos & I realised I should have been more enthusiastic, as it looked stunning. The following morning, I headed out not expecting to see it. However, within a few minutes of arriving, I was pleased to see it was still around & happily feeding on some brambles. First some photos & then some explanation about it.
Painted Lady: Aberration Rogeri
Painted Lady: Aberration Rogeri
Painted Lady: Aberration Rogeri
Painted Lady: Aberration Rogeri
Painted Lady: Aberration Rogeri
For comparison, this is a bog-standard Painted Lady.
Painted Lady: This is what every other Painted Lady that I ave seen has ever looked like
Painted Lady: About my best underwing shot
From what Peter could find out. This is a rare aberration of Painted Lady in the wild. It occurs when the pupae experienced a period of cold weather. Butterfly enthusiasts have artificially bred them by deliberating cooling the pupae. However, this doesn't seem to be commonly seen in the wild. Sadly, as a consequence if its rarity, Peter was advised to be careful about revealing the location as it would be likely to be collected & killed by a Butterfly collector very quickly. The estimated price of a wild specimen to a collector, would more than cover my mortgage for a couple of months. It was seen the next day by one of my mates, but I've spent some time looked since & didn't see it. Either it had decided to move on after feeding up for a few days, had been eaten by a Bird, not that there were a lot of Birds nearby (but a Whitethroat had appeared on my second visit) or perhaps had ended up in a collectors net.