www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I know the adult lifespan varies enormously from species to species, from a few days to many months. I have heard it said that Silver Spotted Skippers for instance only live for 2-3 days, whereas Brimstone can live for up to 9 months
If a particular species lives for around a week for example, how much would the weather conditions affect this? If the day after emergence the weather turned too cool or wet for a week, would this butterfly die after a week having an unfulfilled life? or would its life be lengthened by its lack of activity?
Do they go into a state of semi shutdown during prolonged periods of inactivity due to inclement weather or does their life clock carry on ticking?
Have any studies been made of this

I have no real reason for asking this aother than curiosity, but any comments are appreciated.

I have absolutely no knowledge on this other than my own experiance,and i have often wondered myself.
I recon in the long drags of bad weather we so often get in Great Britain thoughout the spring and summer, the body clock slows as they lay comatose,meaning adults can survive several dull days without harm,but beyond this,it would have a negative effect. I think many species would pretty quikly die out here if this were not the case!
But i would like to hear from the experts on this one.

A very interesting question and one that I have wondered myself.

Back in the spring I observed an Orange Tip take up a roosting position in my back garden and remain there for 4 days of heavy rain. When the weather improved it took off after a few minutes of sun and if I had not known better would have thought that it was a recently emerged example.

My own feeling, and I could be very wrong, is that they go into a state of torpor and time effectively almost stands still for them while they are in this state.

Where things get complicated is at what temperature does this state occur with different species and for how long could they survive like this?

I also would like some expert opinion on this.

Neil F.

Studies appear to show that the earlier stages can extend the period prior to their metamorphosis to the next stage in the event of poor weather conditions (just as they can abbreviate them in the event of optimal conditions too) but the imago cannot advance to a next level, so I don't really see how its life can be elongated any further than the length it is genetically programmed to survive for.

I would be most surprised to find that a short-lived species (e.g. Black Hairstreak) could somehow extend its adult life span by a significant degree just because the weather is abnormally cool and/or wet.

It would perhaps make an interesting topic for study, for someone with a quantity of the same species in captivity. It would be quite difficult, I imagine, to keep track of individuals over a prolonged period in the wild.

There are a lot of myths about this subject.

Adult butterflies are much tougher and resilient than is generally supposed. In certain circumstances, a Brimstone can live for up to a year in the wild.

In captivity, with good husbandry, I have kept male and female Purple Emperors alive, healthy and well for up to eight weeks. Yes, two months.

Good husbandry means correct feeding levels, adequate activity and exercise ... 24/7 TLC.

I have found that in captivity a male Purple Emperor can be more virile and capable of better successful pairings with higher levels of fertile ova when over one month old. Males used for pairings say only six or seven days old have far lower or less successful fertility. There's a reason why males emerge a week or more before the females do. Indeed a good male can be used for several successful pairings over a period allowing time for him to recover, feed up and restore virility between pairings... Under very favourable circumstances and lots of luck, I suspect the same could happen in the wild.

As observed in an earlier response on this thread, during long periods of adverse weather conditions, insects can lay up switched off and so do not age at all. Just taking the occasional sip of rainwater or morning dew to sustain them. Then resume an active life when conditions and temperatures improve.

I sought for lifespan of some (charismatic and here living) species of my interest:

Duskies (P. nausithous) - 3 days (6 in captivity, 2 - inbreeding); same for P. teleius, I think

Meadow Brown, Dingy Skipper - 3 to 10 days

Melitaea and Brenthis Nymphalids - around 2 weeks

Apollo - up to 1 month (IIRC, mark and recapture in 80s or 90s, Stramberk, CZE)

SW Fritillary, Argynnises - similar to Apollo

Great Banded Grayling - ♂ 43 days, ♀ 56 days (in Spain); many or even all steppe Graylings are long-living

Camberwell Beauty, Large Tortoiseshell - almost as long as Brimstone does

If I were a butterfly, I wouldn't want to be Dusky Large Blue