www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Can anyone suggest good nec tar TREES for the white and red admirals apart from buddleia..Iread the white(camilla) likes partial shade and yellow and black birch,black oaks and aspens.Can anyone share their experience with these butterflies and these trees and tell me if these butterflies tolerate partial shade and will tolerate shady rides.,?Also has anyone seen them nectaring on wild or any other form of cherry or cornus.What trees are their favourite to overwinter in/Has anyone found them overwintering in berried ivy?Or otherpines-types? OrHolmwood oaks? Thanks.Happy butterfly viewing?LOIS

Most trees have finished producing nectar before the white admirals come on the wing - so Prunus &c. are no use to them. I have a strong colony in a local wood and they spend most of their time taking minerals on the ground, resting on leaves, or nectaring at bramble. They rarely nectar at the other flowering plants that attract the other butterflies, like angelica and hemp agrimony.

Guy

hi lois,

i would back up what guy has outlined.
but i have seen them in my local wooton inclosure nectaring on hemlock water dropwort when the bramble blossom is not available,
but on a cautionary measure i don't know if you would want to grow it as its pretty deadly stuff being highly poisonous.

gary.

Ah! That might be what this plant is - I shall check it up:




I just had a look through this year's piccies and that's the only non-bramble plant I've photographed white admiral on.

Guy

Last year at Red Lodge Wood in Wiltshire, I saw white admirals nectaring off thistle.

hi guy,

many of the umbelliferae family flowers look remarkably similar, but from a first glance ide say thats ground elder.
it looks more dainty with thiner stems and has a full leaf rather than feathered like the dropwort, no were near as robust a plant.
interesting non the less as we can now see with eccles thistle addition that when needs must they will nectar on a selection of flowers.

gary.

It's local, and still in flower, I think, so when it stops raining I'll take my copy of Flora Helvetica for a walk and see what it is.

Guy

Thanks for all this.I'll look forward to finding out what that plant is.Would it ever nectar on wild queen anne lace? Have you ever seen it in Europe?LOis

Hullo again.When you say the white admiral won't nectar of most plants butterflies do,would it nectar off buddleia if needs must?I am assumimg that it does not nectar on any form of lonicera and this is solely the host plant for the caterpillars?Am I correct?Thanks again,LOIS