Another Purple Emperor seen in Derbyshire - meaning rare butterflies could be breeding in our county

Butterfly Conservation have just confirmed that a female Purple Emperor butterfly was seen in Aston on Trent on July 18.

This comes after the first ever Purple Emperor butterfly was seen in Derbyshire on July 8 this year – when a male was spotted on a driveway in Bretby.

Commenting on the Aston on Trent sighting, Ken Orpe, Derbyshire Recorder at Butterfly Conservation, said: “A second individual, a female, was seen on a track in Aston on Trent in South Derbyshire. The butterfly was seen by Alan Burrell at about 9 am, which suggests it came down to the track from an adjacent woodland for some heat, similar to the first butterfly seen in Bretby.

"Hopefully, the species is now breeding in the county for the very first time!”

According to records by Butterfly Conservation, which date back to 1829, Purple Emperors had not been seen in our county during the last 195 years.

In October last year, Mr Orpe suggested that Sallows should be planted in woodlands in Derbyshire – as the Purple Emperor females use this plant to lay their eggs.

He arranged for a Joint Venture of South Derbyshire District Council and Butterfly Conservation East Midlands to purchase 600 plants.

Several organisations including National Trust, The National Forest and Toyota UK, have been involved in planting the Sallows in Derbyshire woodlands.

Now the results of the project can be seen and we are lucky enough to see these beautiful rare butterflies in our county.