aestivation/hibernation of red admiral or?? small toroiseshe

[amberdelight]

Hi, my name is Marion. I live in Buckfastleigh in Devon. I am interested to know how rare this occurence is- Iy felt like a miracle to me, or at least deeply symbolic. There had been a butterfly on the ceiling by my loft hatch for several months, definitely before beginning of June as I was tempted to remove it before my mother and Sister visited then, thinking it was dead and feeling the need to clean. However it stayed there and last sunday morning (Oct 9th) after daylight I heard a fluttering against my bedroom window. I just pulled the curtain back and thinking it was a moth, got up to let it out. Well it was a butterfly. I let it out and then remembered the 'dead' one on my ceiling. It was gone! I was both gobsmacked and delighted. Are butterflies known to remain in states of suspended animation like this, or is it unusual? I am not that good on identification, but guess it must have been a red admiral, or small tortoiseshell as the underwings were very dark, and it had orange , white and brown on the upper wings.

[Vince Massimo]

Hi Marion,

Your question is a common one and I firstly have to say that you did absolutly the right thing by releasing the butterfly. From your description it sounds like it was a Small Tortoiseshell, which is one of the species that hibernates as an adult through the winter.
See http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species. ... es=urticae

Small Tortoiseshell upperside

Small Tortoiseshell underside

They have been known to enter hibernation quite early in the year, but can become active during any warm spells. They usually choose a cool, shady place to settle, but if they enter a house the unnaturally warm environment will cause them to become active and use up the essential body fats which they need to see them through the winter, and they will usually die. They can also die because the air in a centrally-heated home is too dry. If they are outside during one of these warm winter spells they may, at least, be able to replenish their reserves by finding a winter-flowering plant. Basically they need to remain in a state of suspended animation in order to survive the winter. Generally, more will be likely to survive a cold winter than a mild one, although there are a number of other factors which make this true.

The standard advice on what to do upon finding a butterfly in you house is here http://ukbutterflies.co.uk/faq.php

Vince