Wildlife watch: Red admiral butterfly

The red admiral is a large butterfly with black and red wings with white spots along the tips of its forewings and blue markings at the base of its hindwings. A migrant butterfly travelling here from North Africa and continental Europe to breed in spring before the next generation returns in autumn, some red admirals now hibernate in the UK, and they emerge on mild days to feed on winter flowers. As such, they can be found feeding on garden flowers all year round.

Mating takes place throughout the year and the female lays eggs singly on leaves of common nettle, although hops, pellitory of the wall and the small nettle are also used. After hatching, the larvae use silk to join the edges of a leaf together to make themselves a little tent, in which they can hide from predators while still feeding. As they grow they move to a new leaf and make a new tent. They go though five instars, or stages, where they shed skin as they grow. Eventually they pupate into a chrysalis, hanging from or nearby their foodplant.

This year has been a bumper year for the red admiral, with the charity Butterfly Conservation reporting a 400 per cent increase in sightings over the summer. This is most likely due to the milder winters we have been experiencing with climate change, along with last year’s very hot summer.