Matthew Oates - His Imperial Majesty A Natural History of the Purple Emperor.

A delight to read.

The Guardian

Dogbarking wood, cherry-pickers, shrimp paste, caterpillars called Sir Cloudesley Shovell this monumental, transcendent, hilarious book is a natural history like no other. This profound work of genius brings us alive to the pulsating wonder of an English woodland in June to life, the universe and everything.

Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles

To say Oates is fascinated by the purple emperor is an epic understatement. It is clear from his rich prose that he has been obsessed for 50 years. He now writes with the authority and gravitas of the true doyen, but you can still imagine the twinkle in his eye as he pours out his boyhood heart to this wonderful insect.

BBC Wildlife

Matthew Oatess study of the Purple Emperor butterfly is a joyful, boisterous piece of nature writing that informs, educates and, most importantly, entertains. Oates has a huge love for his insect of choice, and he writes about it with passion and great humour.

The Herald

A wonderfully funny and eccentric book, full of rich human oddity.

Daily Mail

One of the greatest naturalists of our time, Matthew is also one of sciences most articulate and generous communicators, the kind of champion nature now needs more than ever.

Isabella Tree, author of Wilding

Oates knows about as much as there is to know about this mysterious butterfly.

i Newspaper

Matthew Oates, part poet, cricket lover and butterfly fanatic, has been obsessed with the purple emperor for almost 50 years. His amusing, beautifully written natural history brings this elusive butterfly to life Its a cheerful tale, for the purple emperor is in the ascendancy, which makes this entertaining, witty and informative account the perfect read.

Country Life

This fascinating account sets out to explore one of Britains most captivating butterfly species all told in a witty and informative style that draws you in and envelops you in the charming world of the king of British butterflies.

Countryside

Matthew Oatess beatification of one of our most he would say the most spectacular insects is a total delight. In prose which soars as high as its subject, he blends mythology, history, biology and exceptional field skills to create the ultimate butterfly biography.

Brett Westwood, presenter and author

A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR

Matthew Oates is a naturalist, writer and poet who has been obsessed by Britains butterflies since he was at school. Intimately acquainted with all Britains native species, he has conducted most of his research on the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Mountain Ringlet and Duke of Burgundy; his experiences are summarised in his previous book, In Pursuit of Butterflies . But no butterfly has entranced him as much as the elusive beautiful Purple Emperor a butterfly we now understand much better thanks to his detailed and tireless observations. Matthew retired from his post as National Specialist on Nature with the National Trust in 2018, and dedicated his retirement to ensuring the future of his favourite butterfly. He writes regularly for The Times Nature Notebook column and in magazines, and lives on the GloucestershireWiltshire border.

To CH, where I fell under the spell of this, the best of all possible enchantments.

Contents

Our butterfly suffered an annus horribilis in 2020. Winter was mild, wet and stormy. Larval mortality was high, around 80 per cent, with bird predation the most likely key factor.

The rains were followed by our sunniest spring on record. The UK was in lockdown, yet the weather was perfect for butterfly activities and for larval development. Lockdown forced me to search for Purple Emperor larvae in my local woods, Cirencester Park Woods. Without it, I might never have looked. Sure enough, on Sunday 26 April I spotted the distinctive silhouette of an Emperor larva high up on a ride-side sallow; then two, then three. Yay!

The fine spring meant that an early Purple Emperor season was on the cards. But the weather stalled at the start of June, arresting pupal development and preventing 2020 from breaking the official record for the earliest UK Purple Emperor. The first males were seen on 13 June, at Knepp. His Gloriousness then shimmered, gloriously, during a five-day heatwave around Midsummers Day, but everywhere numbers were low too much damage had been done during the winter, and maybe in early June.

Then the jet stream jumped south and ushered in severe gales at the end of June and start of July. If Emperors had the sense to roost on the sheltered side of tree trunks all might have been well, but true to the final paragraph of Chapter 4 of this book (p. 1089) they sought to ride out the storms high in the foliage and got smashed to smithereens.

Worse, few eggs were laid, for Herself had suffered similarly. My annual search for eggs and larvae in Savernake Forest totalled a paltry nine, by far the lowest tally in twelve years (see p. 236). The only news of significant spread came from the Cotswolds and northern fringes of The Purple Empire, notably Leicestershire.

This was the worst Purple Emperor season since 1990, when similar weather events caused similar mayhem. It shows how vulnerable our butterflies are. But make no mistake, the Lord of Misrule will bounce back, to fly the golden sky that lies behind the rain.

A multitude of people have helped towards this book in diverse ways. Their numbers are too legion for them all to be named here. The roll of honour dates back to 1964, when the Purple Emperor first entered my life, and must be headed by my late mother, Helen Oates (ne Martin). The sufferings of my wife, Sally, and family must be dutifully recorded here my four children have long referred to this butterfly as The Preciousss , rightly.

I am particularly grateful to Charlie and Issy Burrell of Knepp Castle Estate, and their staff and volunteers most notably Penny Green and Rachel Knott for making my wildest dream come true, through the Purple paradise that is Knepp Wildland. Equally foremost are my dear friends Neil Hulme, who has been my kindred spirit in all things Purple for many years; Ken Willmott, whom I have known closely since the long hot summer of 1976 and who pioneered ecological work on the Purple Emperor; Dr Dennis Dell, an octogenarian who serves as a role model for my later years and who read through and commented helpfully on many of the chapters in this book, as did my longstanding friend Gail Jeffcoate; and Liz Goodyear and Andrew Middleton, who have systematically and brilliantly surveyed for Purple Emperors in Hertfordshire, Middlesex and East Anglia, and commented constructively on several draft chapters here.

Katy Roper, of Bloomsbury Publishing, managed to knock the first draft of this book into shape before going on maternity leave. Jenny Campbell took over from her, and saw the project through to fruition, aided and abetted by Jim Martin. I am deeply grateful to them, and to Tim Bernhard for providing line drawings, and to Darren Woodhead for a deeply memorable day at Knepp Wildland in July 2019 when he, in the company of his delightful family, captured ideas for the books front cover; and to copy-editor Liz Drewitt for spotting and correcting various mistakes.

It is a pleasure also to acknowledge the People of Purple Persuasion (the official Purple Emperor fan club): notably Derek Longhurst, who has accompanied me on this journey since our schooldays together and established the Purple Emperor website and blog; Mike Fuller and Bill Shreeves, longstanding butterfly recorders for the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset, respectively; Doug Goddard and Andy Wyldes, who fly the Purple flag in Northamptonshire; Mike Slater, who has assiduously recorded the Purple Emperors spread in Warwickshire, and provided much practical conservation advice and cutting-edge thinking; Ashley Whitlock, who has been the Purple standard bearer in Hampshire for many years; Chris Winnick, for use of his extensive library, and Lynn and Paul Fomison for use of their caravan; butterfly breeders Derek Smith, Martin White and Colin Wiskin, whose expertise has been invaluable to this book; and Paul Fosterjohn, for the production of umpteen Purple Emperor badges, flags and paraphernalia, and for his 69-page risk assessment form for the dangerous pursuit of Emperoring; Dr Richard Harrington for advice on aphid ecology; Andy Foster for advice on beetles and weevils; the Catalan contingent of Jimmy Evarts, Mike Lockwood and Dr Constanti Stefanescu; and the Dutch contingent headed by Dr Michiel Wallis de Vries. My dearest schoolfriend, Dr Nigel Fleming, also needs thanking for encouraging me to live the most discordant of lives.