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| Nagy Rókalepke - Nymphalis polychloros - Large Tortoiseshell (phone photo) |
Bükkszentkereszt. We saw this Nymphalis polychloros flying round the edge of the forest in bright sunshine at midday. Its activity seemed to centre around a mature hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). Closer inspection showed that the butterfly was feeding on, or at least drinking, fluids running down from a wound near the base of the tree. The bark damage was slight - possibly a peck mark from a woodpecker - but the whole of the shaded part of the stem below it was wet. This species of nymphalid is well known for feeding at tree sap (although it does also visit floral nectar, including Sallow) but in this instance the 'sap' was not at all sugary (the tree buds are only now beginning to break), rather watery. It has been a very dry March so far and in the Bükk hills moisture sources at the forest floor are not that common during spells like this. After a few days of strong sunshine, with no leaf canopy and a rush of growth in vernal herbs, soil surface water is very low. This tree wound was probably the only moisture available in the vicinity - nectar sources still being scarce - but whether the insect sought or benefited from the dissolved nutrients being transported from the tree's roots up to its soon-to-unfold canopy I don't know.
High in the hills later that day, and no less exciting than lepidopteran feeding behaviour, we found this scat. It was not very recent and had loosened as it dried out but, judging by the size (the coin is 24mm across) and the fact that it contains masses of hair and fragments of bone, I think this must be Wolf. Opinions welcome...
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| possible Wolf dropping |
