Admirable survivor of winter chills

It has been a mild autumn and so I am still coming across the odd one of species like the Red Admiral butterfly, even as we move into late November. However, as we head into December any butterfly you see now you should take your hat off and say well done, keep going.

Red Admirals are a large butterfly in a British context with a pattern of white blotches on the tip of the wings, then one red band down each wing and a red band along the bottom of the hindwings. The rest of the wings are a very dark brown/black colour. They lay their eggs on nettles and the spiky caterpillars are a grey or black colour and they fold the nettle leaf over, to form a tent in which to feed.

The Red Admiral butterfly hibernates as the adult and in the last decade, the butterfly has been discovered in greater numbers each spring in garages, greenhouses, conservatories and as well as in houses. Surviving our British winters can be a challenge for insects but it appears that the trend is for more species to successfully do so.

So it is not just the Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterfly, which all the caterpillars of those species feed on. The Red Admiral might become a more familiar sight first thing in the spring.

For more information contact Owen Leyshon, Romney Marsh Countryside Partnership, telephone 01797 367934 or log on to www.rmcp.co.uk