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| | | THE LIVING WORLD
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Go to the Listen Again page | | | | | | | PROGRAMME INFO | | | |
| | | The Living World is a gentle weekend natural history programme, which aims to broadcast the best, most intimate encounters with British wildlife.
[email protected] | | | | | LISTEN AGAIN 25min | | | |
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|  | PRESENTER | | | |
|  | | | | "The Living World is the next best thing to being there. Our contributors are skilled naturalists who are able to reveal those fascinating facts about animals and plants that you don't always find in books. It's like having a personal guided tour of the countryside, without needing to leave the house."
Brett Westwood | | |
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|  | | | How to attract Purple Emperor butterflies down from the trees |
Woodland Butterflies
During the summer, many of our British butterflies can be found in the sun-dappled glades or "rides" of woodlands. Woodland is very important for some species of butterfly as they are dependent on this habitat for different stages of their lifecycle.
The Silver-washed Fritillary lays its eggs on plants like violets found in the shade but the adult butterflies need the open glades where foodplants like purple creeping thistle grow as the butterfly feeds on its nectar. This butterfly gets its name from the delicate silver streaks found on the underside of its wings.
One of our most impressive woodland butterflies is the Purple Emperor. This beautiful butterfly is difficult to see as it spends its life high up in the treetops. It feeds on aphid honeydew - a substance secreted by aphids which is found on the trees' leaves. The Purple Emperor has always been a popular butterfly with butterfly enthusiasts and since Victorian times there have been intriguing methods used to try and tempt it down from the tree canopy!
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RELATED LINKS
BBC Science & Nature
Butterfly Conservation
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