Peacock Butterflies in the Snow !!

[rd84]

Hi,

For two days running I have seen Peacock butterflies out on the snow in Leicestershire sunning themselves. I'm amazed by this. Is it normal ? - Today I caught one and brought it inside to warm up. However I'm wondering what I should do with it ? - leave it inside ? - feed it ?? - release it when the sun comes out again ?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Cheers
Paul

[Padfield]

Something has woken your peacocks from hibernation and the one you have rescued needs to return to hibernation as soon as possible. Every day warm and awake is a wasted day, just using up energy. If you know places where peacocks hibernate - cool barns &c. - it would be best to put your butterfly in such a place and let it find a suitable roost to go back to sleep. I know some people do keep them in the fridge over winter but I've never done that. If the weather is very good, you could let it out in the sun in the morning and trust it to find a good place to hibernate. Be careful, though. My experience is that when they land on snow they readily go torpid because of the cold, especially if the sun goes in. It needs to be a really nice day for it to warm up enough to be sure of finding the right place.

Guy

[rd84]

Hi Guy,

Thanks for the advice.

The one I caught today was next to a barn but I was nervous about its condition and wanted to make sure it recovered. I have a cold double garage at home where it wouldn't be disturbed. Do you think it would be suitable to release it in there to finish winter off ?

Cheers
Paul

[Padfield]

If the garage is undisturbed, unheated and not likely to get humid, then that might be a good place. You don't want sunny-side windows that will let in heat and light in midwinter. If there is no natural way out, you will also have to keep an eye on it and let it out in the spring. Maybe you could put it in a cardboard box. Butterflies readily stop trying to fly when they are in the cool and dark.

There are others on this site who know much more about keeping butterflies than I do, but I wanted to reply quickly, so your peacock didn't spend too long flying around. Get it torpid, in a box in your garage, and if someone puts a later post with a better idea no harm will have been done.

Guy

[Pete Eeles]

Cold and dark is sound advice. I regularly have Peacocks hibernating in my garage loft which is pretty dark because there is a floor to the loft that keeps the light out.

Cheers,

- Pete

[rd84]

Hi,

Thanks for the advise.

I've had the butterfly in the garage overnight inside a cardboard box to keep him in the dark and secure - it was cold in there !! - however this morning I checked him and although his wings were closed they opened and closed occasionally - do I need to find somewhere colder still ? - Do I need to provide any food ? perhaps honey or glucose solution ?

Sorry to be a nuisance.

Cheers
Paul

[Pete Eeles]

I suspect he/she opened their wings because you took the lid off! If it's cold enough, then there shouldn't be any problem just leaving the lid on.

Hibernating butterflies rarely move since it burns up their essential fat reserves, which is what gets them through the winter.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Rogerdodge]

I found a Small Tortoiseshell in my bathroom today.
It was quite active, flapping at the window.
The issue here is that they use up the fat reserves they put down in the autumn if they revive during the winter.
Ths may not leave enough to survive until the spring.
I fed it on a honey/water solution on a small rag, and then placed it in the apex of my shed.
I doubt it will make it - but at least I have tried.

[Rogerdodge]

Pete wrote-

Hibernating butterflies rarely move since it burns up their essential fat reserves, which is what gets them through the winter.

Roger wrote

The issue here is that they use up the fat reserves they put down in the autumn if they revive during the winter.
Ths may not leave enough to survive until the spring.

Snap!!!!!!

[Dave McCormick]

The issue here is that they use up the fat reserves they put down in the autumn if they revive during the winter.
Ths may not leave enough to survive until the spring.

Yes. This is why the Camberwell beauty can't survive in the UK as its not cold enough usually (well it probably is now) during winter and it can come out of hibernation early, use fat reserves and die earlier, resulting in it not living long enough to find a mate and breed. Its the same for species that are disturbed in winter. If they don't go back into hibernation fast enough they could suffer same fate.

One thing I wondered though, if you see a butterfly outside your house and its been disturbed or whatnot, would putting it in an empty jar or some similar container and putting it in fridge for a while bring on its hibernation state again so it can survive winter? Or would it just be better to find a place for it to hibernate and putting it there?

[Padfield]

You're right about the beauties, Dave. Here in Switzerland we had a glut of Camberwell beauties in the spring of 2009, after our hardest winter for decades. I'm looking forward to a repeat this year!!

I don't have enough experience of keeping butterflies to know the answer to your peacock/jar question. I would imagine, though, that it is important to ensure humidity levels are low. Wherever possible, I think it is best to let nature take its course and not try to 'rescue' things. Sometimes, of course, you have to, if you don't simply want to watch a creature die.

Guy

[Gruditch]

I was rearranging someones barn style garage today, sadly I found the wings of about half a dozen Peacocks and Small Torts. Judging by the amount of mice poo there was in there, I would guess they fell victim to one or several mice. I only found one still alive Peacock, who is now spending the rest of the winter in my mouse free outhouse.

Regards Gruditch

[Pete Eeles]

One thing I wondered though, if you see a butterfly outside your house and its been disturbed or whatnot, would putting it in an empty jar or some similar container and putting it in fridge for a while bring on its hibernation state again so it can survive winter? Or would it just be better to find a place for it to hibernate and putting it there?

Definitely the latter. One of the dangers of keeping adults in a fridge is that mould can develop on them, and ultimately kill them.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Gruditch,
"I would guess they fell victim to one or several mice" - I hate those mices to pieces
Neil

[Dave McCormick]

One thing I wondered though, if you see a butterfly outside your house and its been disturbed or whatnot, would putting it in an empty jar or some similar container and putting it in fridge for a while bring on its hibernation state again so it can survive winter? Or would it just be better to find a place for it to hibernate and putting it there?

Definitely the latter. One of the dangers of keeping adults in a fridge is that mould can develop on them, and ultimately kill them.

Cheers,

- Pete

I knew keeping adults in fridge for a little while was ok, done that with moths on a few occations, but thought it would be bad if they were kept in fridge too long.

Hi Gruditch,

Well I suppose something like that could very well happen. I forgot what mice ate and because of snow it would be harder for them to find food and these would be easier food than anything else around at moment I suppose.

[Cotswold Cockney]

Not read all this thread but, finding an active Peacock this time of year will not be good for its continued well being. Try and catch it and place in a suitable box, then place box in the cold fridge for a day or three. That will get it to settle down. Then place the box in a cold outhouse, shed garage etc with the box open but in a dark corner away from spiders and other potential predators ~ cats and birds. Chances are come the warmer sunnier days of late February and early March when the longer daylight hours and warmer sunshine should awaken it. If the place has no easy escape for the insect, check it daily ~ a simple quick glance is sufficient ~ and the first sign of resumed cativity allow it access to an open door or window.

As a teenager back in the exceptional summer of 1959, I dead head pruned my Buddleia regularly so that it produced flowering spikes well into November and the occasional butterfly would visit ~ I've even had Red Admirals in late December feeding on the flower clusters of the Strawberry Tree Arbutus undeo which I grew and still do as i fed many larvae of Europe's largest butterfly on it, the magnificent Charaxes jasius.

I digress ~ back in late November 1959, I captured a Hummingbird Hawk Moth over the Buddleia spikes by simply placing a large cleam Jam Jar over the hovering Moth. I placed the moth in a small cardboard box, and put that down in the cool outhouse and as youngsters tend to do, forgot all about it ... Come next March, I rediscovered my box and opened it up expecting to find a dead moth .... No chance ~ an active Hummingbird Hawk flew off in the warm March sunshine ~ one of my favourite times of year.

My magnificent Strawberry Tree over the years became almost the size of a double decker Bus ~ I raised many fine C.jasius on it and saw many Red Admirals feeding from its winter flower clusters over the years ~ got pictures of them somewhere... Sadly, I had that magnificent tree bulldozed to make way for a double garage some years ago ~ I do have a large potted one which is in flower now in the garden, and two I planted in my own little reserve are doing well too. Also sadly bulldozed away were a row of slow growing conifers Ch.lawsonia which produced numerous small cones. Some winters these cones attracted small flocks of those beautiful finches, Siskins and Crossbills who would spend ages working the seeds from those little cones. Those finches well away from their usual West Gloucestershire woodland habitats in the extensive Forest of Dean.

[rd84]

Hi,

Many thanks for the advice. He's currently in a cardboard box in a cold garage. The box is closed at present so I suppose it will have to be opened up in February ?

Cheers
Paul

[rd84]

Hi everyone,

Good news - when the weather was nice last week we noticed a lot of Peacock butterflies in the garden so we opened the box and he was alive and well - we let him warm up in the sunshine, a few flexes of his wings and he was gone - what a joy to see him flying around the garden !!

Many thanks for all of the advice and help with this.

Cheers
Paul

[Lee Hurrell]

Good to hear of a happy ending Paul

Cheers

Lee