tempus fugit

By ceridwen

The admiral and the lady

 I'm not skilled enough to tell whether the red admiral (left) was in fact a lady or the painted lady a gent but the two did seem to be getting very amorous despite the fact that they belong to different species. They are cousins though, Vanessa atalanta and Vanessa cardui respectively. And both are blow-ins, the admiral from the Med and the lady from North Africa, alike in choosing Pembrokeshire to indulge their romantic urges* -- although their Tinder apps will have to come up with a better match if they are to reproduce successfully this  summer. 
The flower is red valerian which grows all over the walls here and is a magnet for flutterbies.

*Indeed, following a famous historical precedent: in 1802 Admiral Lord Nelson was invited by local landowner Sir William Hamilton to inspect the new docks at Milford Haven. At the time Nelson was in the midst of a notorious affair with Hamilton's  wife Lady Emma who had already given birth to the Admiral's only child, Horatia.

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.