You’d better whisper that Guy. You never know, there might be some Creationists lurking on this group.Is it possible the butterfly itself is changing, towards being a true hibernator?
Jack
You’d better whisper that Guy. You never know, there might be some Creationists lurking on this group.Is it possible the butterfly itself is changing, towards being a true hibernator?
Actually, I was thinking more of Oligia strigilis or O. latruncula (don't recall which was the studied one). In that case the melanism is currently working backwards in the city centers.Chris wrote:I presume you're thinking of Peppered Moths?
That is definitely true. The change in wintering methods is indeed a more profound change.Chris wrote:The mix of phenotypes in a population can change in a shorter time frame than the underlying genotype.
I'm not sure I know what you mean. Do you mean that (bringing it back to the example) there are populations of Red Admirals that are better adapted to hibernating, that currently migrate to Finland, say, but the change in environmental conditions mean that they are altering their migratory route to reach England not Finland each summer? (I use Finland as an arbitrary example - I have no idea how successful Red Admirals are in FInland!!!)JKT wrote:What if there are already somewhat different populations in different parts of distribution and the genes that are better capable of hibernating are moving when the environment changes?
No, I meant that their genes might slowly migrate inside the full distribution. That might enable such adaptation to happen much faster than otherwise. Anyway, the idea is purely hypothetical without any reference to actual species or locations.Chris wrote:I'm not sure I know what you mean. Do you mean that (bringing it back to the example) there are populations of Red Admirals that are better adapted to hibernating, that currently migrate to Finland, say, but the change in environmental conditions mean that they are altering their migratory route to reach England not Finland each summer?
The first sighting of the year reported to Herts/Middlesex Butterfly Conservation (although it was south of the Thames and would therefore come under Surrey I think) was a Red Admiral on 23rd January...padfield wrote:In Switzerland, we've just witnessed our coldest January for 23 years, followed by a very cold February, and yet my first butterfly of the year, seen today, was a red admiral. This is only the second year I've seen red admiral after hibernation here (the first being 2007, when winter didn't happen). One butterfly doesn't make a trend, but I note that Denise's first butterfly this year was a red admiral too.
Is it possible the butterfly itself is changing, towards being a true hibernator?
Is it? I've not seen a single bee flying this winter, of any sort, despite there being plenty of nectar available for them. In previous years I have seen bees all winter long. I put this down to the very cold winter but perhaps I'm wrong.Matsukaze wrote:Perhaps it is a response to the increased availability of nectar in winter? This seems to be what is causing some bumblebee species to fly in winter, rather than warmer winters.
Susie wrote:only a Red Admiral
We have two bee hives here and they were alive today, first they have been active this year, should get some good honey this year:I saw a honey bee today too!
Gruditch - I, like Susie, thought they roosted and over-wintered in ivy, but I have seen them finding a night roost in Scots Pine and some garden shrubs. However, if I have a question about butterfly behaviour I go straight to Adrian Hoskins' excellent website http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com . There he states that, at night, on cold days and during the winter months, Red Admirals roost head-downwards on the trunks or lower branches of oaks, larches and other trees where the bark-like underside of the wings provides them with excellent camouflage.Gruditch wrote:Where do the Red Admirals spend their inactive time. On several cold but sunny November days, when it was only 6 degrees in the shade, there were Red Ads feeding on the apples I had placed in the sun. If they chose a deep shady place in a shed, like Peacocks & Small Torts, then they would never know there's a sunny day to be had, let alone get active. So they must be fairly hardy to spend the winter in probably a pretty exposed spot.