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Your typo had me befuddled there for a mo, I thought that I was only just behind you Dave The Painted Lady is certainly a surprise this late in the day Dave Fingers crossed for a few November sightings

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks, Wurzel - date now corrected. The butterflies are certainly confused, so it appears to be catching... Here's hoping for some November butterflies - the weekend ahead looks relatively balmy.

Dave

I'm afraid you will have waited in vain for a report ' from Sussex '.
I have been nursing, what is for me, a rare, nasty cold.
However, I'm off to Wiltshire tomorrow, so if the weather is suitable
I will stop off at Southwick, and hopefully some November Butterflies.

Trevor.

millerd wrote:So, five different species today and a total of ten since 24th. That has to be a first round here for the last week of October.

That's quite remarkable, Dave. So long as we don't get a cold blast, I wouldn't rule out half a dozen or more during the early part of November!

This time of year really IS becoming milder.

It has been a good run at the end of October, so after a grey and dismal start to November you might think it would all be over. Not quite...

Friday 2nd November: Another frosty start to the day, but lots of sunshine to bring the temperatures up to 11 or 12 degrees by lunchtime. Not much wind either. The local hotspots round here were all ivy patches today, with the Copper territory now apparently empty.

Altogether, I counted seven Red Admirals and a Comma, plus a rather worn Holly Blue which I disturbed whilst moving closer to a Red Admiral and lost track of. Remarkably, this is an almost identical count to that achieved on 1st November 2017 (7 Red Admirals, 2 Commas and a Holly Blue a year ago). It's interesting that after en entirely different sort of year for the species, the numbers of Red Admirals at the start of November should be the same. Dave

Saturday 3rd November: Reasonably sunny and warm, but spoiled by a strong wind. I managed to see a single Red Admiral, but it was very mobile and up against the breeze.

Dave

Cracking set of shots Dave - I really like the 'imperious looking down on you lower mortals' pose that Red Admirals manage to throw Only a fly-by butterfly for me in the last couple of days Fingers crossed for the Social - I might set off a day or two before

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers, Wurzel - Red Admirals definitely live up to one of their names and have an aristocratic attitide sometimes. I've been very happy to see a few more around at the end of what hasn't been a terribly good season for them around here.

I've just returned from another break in Holmfirth - no adult butterflies to report, but in the unikely setting of the middle of the town, someone has planted a row of cabbages of some sort. They looked distinctly chewed, so I had a closer look and discovered that they were covered in Small White caterpillars of various ages. There has definitely been a frost up here (as the the nearby soggy nasturtiums could attest to), but somehow the cabbages must have afforded enough shelter for the caterpillars. With relatively benign weather for another week or two, these little chaps stand a good chance of pupating.A very autumnal view over the town. Dave

Interesting to see the two instars together like that Dave Where the Cabbages in a front garden or on public land instead of a floral display? If the later is it some 'Guerilla gardening'? I knew a University lecturer that used to go round Swindon and Bath and plant potatoes etc in the Town Planters

Have a goodun

Wurzel

The cabbages were in a planter on top of a low wall next to a main road, Wurzel. There was a sort of open courtyard next to a shop, and there were a few other vegetables - some carrots I think - but mostly brassicas. There were nasturtiums as well, but these had been turned by frost into sludge. I think, like you suggest, it was instead of a floral display and intended to provide something edible for a change. Certainly the local Small Whites had taken advantage, and there were maybe as many as fifty caterpillars across all the plants. I'd have taken more photos, but I was causing a minor obstruction on the pavement... They came as a bit of a surprise, as firstly as it was November, secondly this was up in Yorkshire rather than the balmy south coast, and finally there had clearly been a recent frost.

Thursday 8th November: Back home, so with bright sunshine and 14 degrees today, I set off around my local patch. The strong wind put a bit of a dampener on things, but a Red Admiral appeared around each of the first two ivy patches I visited.Walking across a wider piece of grass near the lake, something smaller flew up from the ground and darted away. I managed to catch up with it for just one quick shot before it disappeared - Silver-Y moth. I imagine these aren't often seen as late in the year as this.A little further along, I was circled by another Red Admiral, which then basked for a moment on the brambles.It then moved to some low-growing nettles and spent some time flitting between plants before finally settling again.I glimpsed the abdomen curving down, and sure enough the butterfly had left a single egg on the nettles.I now need to check a few more nearby nettle patches!

For the time being, the season continues...

Dave

You are still finding them, Dave. Your fresh looking Red Admiral ab. bialbata
is a great find. We must now be down to the final few days of 2018 sightings,
but in these strange times, who knows ?.

I hope to get out again, weather permitting!.
Trevor.

Amazing to see that you are still finding butterflies into November Dave , it's more like winter than autumn here now.

Cheers,

Neil.

Two of the ones I saw yesterday were bialbata, Trevor, and there is even a hint of a white spot on the egg-laying female too. They usually turn up here about one time in three or four. I hope you get to see something down there too - wind and rain are the problem at the moment, rather than cold.

Cheers, Neil - still definitely autumn here as the leaves are only now falling in numbers and the sun is still warm for the few hours it gets to shine.

An hour or two of sunshine straddling midday enticed me out again today (Friday 9th November). The wind was indeed an issue, but I still found one Red Admiral on one of the ivy patches. The weather ahead looks to remain pretty warm for week or so, perhaps with some more sunshine too: worth a few more walks to see what survives.

Dave

Alright for some Dave , whilst it looks to be warm we've got plenty of wet over this way Lovely set of Red Admirals especially the first one form the previous post - real velvety looking lady that one

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers, Wurzel - it was certainly wet here yesterday afternoon and evening, after a lovely sunny morning too. Thunder, lightning and torrential rain. I didn't see a butterfly, despite the early sun, and after such a storm I didn't expect to see much today (Sunday 11th November) either. However, it was sunny most of the day, and during a morning excursion around my local patch another Red Admiral appeared. This wasn't any of the ones seen recently either, lacking the bialbata spots and clearly fresher than the egg-laying female from the 8th. Unusually warm and sunny weather forecast in the south and east for the next few days apparently, so there could still be a few more...

Dave

Fingers crossed I can get onto some Dave and if they're only half as decent looking as this one then I'd be more than happy

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Not surprising you're still seeing butterflies, Dave. Even in Swansea we are into the teens by day and 10/11c at night. Problem here is the wind and grey skies which effectively make temperatures academic.

There has certainly been a lot of rain here, David, but generally there has been a fair bit of sunshine along with the relatively high temperatures. It's probably averaged out at a daily high of 14 degrees since the start of November. After the coming weekend, though, things look to change drastically...

Good luck Wurzel - there must be some around down your way too.

Monday 12th November was sunny, quite warm, but a bit breezy after some overnight rain. I drew a blank today on the butterfly front.

Tuesday 13th November looked superficially similar, but the wind had calmed a bit. I extended my usual local walk a little, and came across two Commas, the first on some ivy......and the second squeezing some nectar out of the ox-eye daisies nearing the end of their second flowering.As soon as I started wondering where the Red Admirals had got to, one appeared - a distinctly worn and faded individual making the most of the sunshine.Passing another ivy patch for the second time, I found another somewhat fresher Red Admiral, which settled down to pose nicely. Not only was this a bialbata, but the red bands on the forewings were divided into two: ab. fructa. The close-up clearly shows the reduced first pair of legs that Nymphalids have - very hairy and earning them the epithet "brush-footed".

Dave

It is a job to say whether your latest finds have yet to hibernate,
or have been aroused from their slumber by the warm weather.
Whatever, very nice finds for near mid November.

Hope to go out tomorrow,
Trevor.

I reckon the two Commas had been woken by the warm sunshine, Trevor, but the Red Admirals have probably been relatively active - certainly one of them looked to have led a longish life.

In fact, that worn individual appeared again today (14th November), as did another which I don't think I've seen before. This one had been in the wars a bit.However, that didn't turn out to be the end of the story today...

Dave