This year brought a wave of Camberwell Beauties to East Anglia, and particularly to Suffolk. A low-pressure system caused northerly and north-easterly winds from 3rd to 19th August. This brought Nymphalis antiopa from Poland or southern Scandinavia, and they reached the Netherlands in good numbers in the first week of August, though a couple of the Suffolk arrivals were earlier. They were first seen close to the coast, initially in good condition, if showing some signs of exhaustion. Until 1st September, I had not seen one myself, but an early notification of the Brent Eleigh migrant put that situation to rights. The butterfly remained in the orchard of the farm shop for about three hours, feeding on fallen apples. A number of us arrived in time to photograph its undersides as it sucked at the overripe fruit. When it was finally disturbed by a wasp, it flew around in a leisurely way, giving a good view of the white margins of its uppersides at each stroke, and creating a characteristic appearance in flight. It came to rest at shoulder height on a fencepost, and stretched out as if inebriated, giving a perfect photo opportunity. In the full sun, and close-up, it was evident that what had seemed like a perfect specimen from the underside view, had in fact suffered some wear and tear around the wing margins and along the veins of the uppersides.

As the northerly winds abated, it was clear that the invasion was over. Sightings continued, of course, as the butterflies dispersed westwards. By 1st September, the Suffolk count had reached 23, several of which could have been repeats. The maps below show the early arrivals and the progressive move inland, as it appeared at that time.

Distribution maps showing progress of the migrants inland

Norfolk received even more than Suffolk, with the count standing at 33 by the end of August. Only a few arrived along the Essex coast. A number soon found their way westwards into Cambs, Herts, Northants, and onwards, with a few eventually reaching Northern Ireland.

After the initial sightings, most have been found in gardens, feeding on fallen apples or plums. Presumably most will endeavour to hibernate, although the expectation must be that very few will succeed, as they seem intolerant of the humidity of British winters.

The previous Camberwell Beauty invasion was in 1995, when 39 records were received from 36 different tetrads in Suffolk. Those records ran from 3rd August to the end of September – very much the same timeframe as this year. Most of this year’s sightings came in from members of the public not normally involved in recording. One of the early sightings was from SNS member Howard Mottram though, and Paul Lee had one of his own on 9th September. I missed the one that passed a mile from Bury St Edmunds, and appeared in a garden in Westley on 4th September. The 34th sighting may have been the last in Suffolk, on 2nd October.