hibernation

[red admiral]

hello all

right were to begin, first of all i am so so sorry if i have done the wrong thing but this is the story so far...

over a week ago i steped outside at work to find a butterfly sunning its self on the walk way, 5 mins later it was still there much to the anoyance of fellow workers, a few nearly steped on it, i made the decision to move it, rather than it getting steped on!
i was very careful and it didnt make a fuss, i moved it to the side were it remained until now, somedays opening up other days not, sometimes just fluttering abit, when i noticed it had a damaged wing.
after looking on line i relised it was may be trying to hibernate not in a great place at all no shelter, i again made a decision (sorry if this was all the wrong thing to do) to go to work on a weekend as i couldnt sleep last night and bring it home ( mad i know) after looking around for a while i found it had blown away abit and we had alot of frost last night too, i got it into a box and in the journey home it started to flutter or twitch abit so i know its still alive,
i have now placed it in my porch window as i do not have a shed,
now reading again i see this may be the wrong thing if the sun comes out, it is very very cold in there with no heating

what should i do ? im sorry if i have done the wrong thing but i couldjust leave it to be stepped on
then i couldnt leave it when i read it may be hibernating
i think it is a red admiral but having looked at pics it may also be a painted lady, it is closed again now is there any other way for finding out what it is , the only thing i know is we have butterflys in our garden but this is the most stunning i have ever seen
i am sorry this is so long winded i wanted you to have all the fact in order to try and assist me
i also no its chances are slim
thanks all x

[Padfield]

It would certainly have died where it was.

I would recommend:

Keep the butterfly in the dark in a cardboard box, in a cool place protected from extremes, during the spell of cold weather. Maybe even in the fridge if you don't have a shed - I hope someone else will advise on that as I've never done it. So long as the weather remains cold, keep it there. In the meantime, try to get a definite identification (a phone pic of the underside would be quite adequate, if you posted it here).

If the butterfly is a red admiral or painted lady I would keep it in the cool and dark until there is a prolonged spell of warm weather during the winter. If there is such a spell, warm the butterfly up, gently, give it some sugar or a nectar plant, let it feed and then release it (in the morning). It should find a place it finds suitable.

If the butterfly is a small tortoiseshell or peacock, you should keep it in the cool and dark until the spring.

If my advice is wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me, but in the meantime keep it cool. There is no point in it warming up if there is no warmth outside.

Guy

[Jack Harrison]

My hibernating pupae, Orange Tips and Small Whites, are currently enjoying a temperature of minus 3 C in the barn. This is the first cold spell of the winter. When the weather shows signs of warming up, I will transfer their box to an indoor fridge at around +4C. I will keep them in the fridge until early April when the will be allowed to warm up naturally next spring. I have found that unless kept cold, they arr likely to emerge TOO early.

The point is that many butterflies, at whatever is the appropriate stage for that species, are quite "happy" at very low temperatures. Intermittent damp warmth is likely to do more harm.

Jack

[Padfield]

I completely agree with Jack. But on another thread we did discuss the possibility that red admirals in particular might only survive long winters by taking winter nectar on unseasonaby warm days. It could be that this wouldn't apply if the temperature were kept constantly low, artificially, so the butterfly remained torpid all winter. Personally, I doubt this - red admirals never survive mountain winters in my village, even though they're at sub-zero temperatures all winter. They only seem to survive (very occasionally) in the valley, where they are more likely to fly over the winter.

Guy

[red admiral]

thank you for your quick response
i am in the uk and at the moment are having very cold weather about -5 at nights
looking again at pics i think you may have it right it could be a tortise shell
i will get a picture of in the morning although it is closed up

right so lookng at what you all posted heres the plan is this right?
ned to place it in a cardboard box with air holes, do i need to put anything in with it?
i am going to leave it n my porch as apart from sunlight there is no heat in there, if it does get warm i will have to put it in the fridge
i also have another alternative, which is an out side animal run i have for my indoor cats, this is if you can imagine a wood and wire purpose built run that is totally open to the aliments which i thought may be too cold and may also get damp and wet, so no good??

i am worried about the damaged wing, i guess we will have to see if it makes it through the winter and worry about that then?
thanks xx

[Matsukaze]

If they are hibernating, butterflies look for somewhere cool, dark, and out of the winter weather - naturally, they would use hollow trees or caves. They will also overwinter successfully in *unheated* buildings - sheds, garages, old military pillboxes, etc.

Butterflies can survive and go about their business with substantial chunks missing from their wings, in some cases with not much of one wing remaining at all. They still seem able to fly with enthusiasm.