www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Friday 19th - solitary Red Admiral seen nectaring from hebe at Limeslade Bay, Gower:

Vince Massimo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 3:57 pmMy local butterfly hot spot in Crawley produced a surprising 3 Speckled Woods at 12.30 today.

Incredible sightings, Vince, and fabulously posed too.

Yesterday a heavily gravid female red admiral appeared in our Woodbridge garden. I kept my distance, hoping she would lay some eggs, and sure enough there were eggs on the freshest, youngest nettles today:



There are five eggs in this picture:



This is one of them:



Whether any will hatch, with the cold weather and snow forecast for the next week, is not certain.

Guy

Keep an eye on those eggs, Guy. In 2017 I monitored eggs laid in November that hatched in January and February 2018 (in the wild) and March (in captivity).

Vince

A lovely Red Admiral in warm sunshine this morning, nectaring on Buddleia weyeriana .Glad I didn’t prune too soon!

25 November - whilst watching birds moving along our garden hedgerow, I was very surprised to be attacked by a Red Admiral, which flew at speed towards me causing me to duck, then disappeared somewhere into the bright low sun.

Seen in the Crawley hot-spot today at 12.30 - 1 Speckled Wood (male #1 as seen on 23rd) and 1 Red Admiral.
The previous report for 23rd November is here: https://ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewt ... 20#p167351
Temperature was 7C or 8C with no wind in this sheltered spot.
I suspect that this will be the last sighting this year of this species in this location.

Vince

Vince Massimo wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 10:19 pm Keep an eye on those eggs, Guy. In 2017 I monitored eggs laid in November that hatched in January and February 2018 (in the wild) and March (in captivity).

Vince

Thanks Vince. I didn't know red admiral eggs could remain viable after so long unhatched.

I went to look for more today and found plenty. Then I spotted what to the naked eye looked like a hatching egg. On examining the photo, I see it is a hymenopterid, apparently crawling out of an egg. Can anyone explain what's really going on here? Sorry for the awful pictures - the eggs were already in the shade when I took these and the flash only reaches the leaf if I pull right back ...





Guy

Vince Massimo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 25, 2021 2:10 pmSeen in the Crawley hot-spot today at 12.30 - 1 Speckled Wood (male #1 as seen on 23rd)..

Can't rule out a December sighting of this species, Vince. Neither of the individuals recorded look to be on their last legs. It would be an incredible thing to see a Speckled Wood in that month of the year!

Sunday 21st - 3 Red Admirals seen at Whiteford Burrows on the NW Gower coast:

A garden red admiral this morning, after a very heavy frost and while the ambient temperature was still just 3°C:







This is the same female I saw on 23rd, now with a much diminished abdomen - so she's laid a lot of eggs!

Guy

Padfield wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:02 pmA garden red admiral this morning, after a very heavy frost and while the ambient temperature was still just 3°C

Amazing statistic, Guy!

I normally don't bother searching for butterflies unless the air temperature is at least 7°c. Maybe I should reassess that?

Padfield wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 12:02 pm A garden red admiral this morning, after a very heavy frost and while the ambient temperature was still just 3°C:
This is the same female I saw on 23rd, now with a much diminished abdomen - so she's laid a lot of eggs!

That's a great sighting, Guy. The fact that she has reappeared is a sign that she has been roosting locally, probably in a very sheltered place which gets morning sunshine. She could possibly overwinter there, so it would worth checking the same spot in the garden on any day when the sun has been out all morning. She has nettles in your garden which she can use for egg laying if the temperature is high enough in December, but she will need energy, so I suggest some pieces of over-ripe apple or something similarly tempting (like half a plum) hung on the fence where she has been perching.

Vince

Monday 22nd - Two Red Admirals seen in Park Wood, Gower:

Thursday 25th - single Comma seen in Worcester Woods Country Park: