Fortunately, there are always the early stages to keep me occupied and interested, and this past week I have turned my attention to our local White Admiral populations. With things running about two weeks later than the recent average, the larvae are currently mostly in the 2nd instar.
The butterflies themselves, in common with most species, were late on the wing this year, and numbers in most of my local woods were well down on last summer.
So, it isn't surprising that in many woods I am finding the larvae harder to find than usual. However, it is noticeable that predation rates are also similarly down - maybe this is logical at times of lower population densities and to be expected, but it is really apparent. Usually by the time most of the population is in the 2nd instar I find at least 2 "empty piers" for every larva (i.e. predation rates running at or above 66% at this stage of development). This year, I have found hardly any empty piers at all.
It would be interesting to compare notes with anyone else who also spends time monitoring White Admiral larvae.
Any comments anyone?
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