first butterfly of spring, a red admiral

[pal38@cam.ac.uk]

on Feb 27th i saw my first butterfly of the year, a red admiral. Now I was always taught that they dont overwinter with us and arrive in summer from the continent.
So how common is it for the first butterfly to be a red admiral (its never happened to me before and I am over 70) and what do i conclude from it,

[David M]

If winters are mild then you can generally expect plenty of Red Admirals to survive.

On the south Wales coast where I live, things have been pretty benign this winter. We've had two hard frosts of -4c and about a dozen or so just below freezing.

Thus far I have seen 4 butterflies in 2015....ALL Red Admirals.

By contrast, in 2013, when we had an abnormally cold spring, I saw no Red Admirals at all until 26th June!

In 2014, the winter was so mild Clouded Yellows managed to survive and I saw one in Swansea on 18th April.

These butterflies shouldn't (theoretically) be able to overwinter here. Thirty years ago it was almost unheard of. These days it's becoming increasingly common.

[Padfield]

You are absolutely right that the vast majority of adult red admirals don't make it through the winter, in the sense that they die before there are suitable breeding conditions. Increasingly, in the south, successful breeding is now observed, though in the country as a whole this remains the exception. That said, red admirals are one of the more likely species to emerge at the first whiff of midwinter sun - probably for the same reason they can't usually last until March, i.e., that they are light sleepers. Small tortoiseshells hibernate as early as July, effectively shutting down their entire systems. They can stay like this for months. Red admirals keep flying until November or even December, then go torpid for as long as they can last out.

If there are already nettles where you live, and if he is not alone, the one you saw might actually have done it! Congratulations!

Guy

[Vince Massimo]

Hi Bob and welcome to UK Butterflies

Red Admiral adults do not hibernate as such, but some do manage to survive during mild winters. Additionally, some larvae can also get through the winter in certain sheltered locations on the south coast by slowing their development. These hardy survivors are supplemented by waves of migrants from the continent in Spring.

It is not becoming unusual to see a Red Admiral during the winter months and records show that 2015 was the 7th year in the last 11 where an adult was seen on the wing on 1st January. This winter looks like it will be noted for being the sunniest on record and, as such, there have been many sightings of this species so far this year.

The sightings for January and February 2015 can be viewed here:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8132
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8175

Vince

EDIT: I see that David and Guy beat me to it
Must type more quickly............