This species was recorded in 264 2-km tetrads in Suffolk in 2001, second only to the Meadow Brown (305) and it was an exceptional year for behaviour observations.
In Colin Campbell’s garden, at Chilton Road, Ipswich, YM 194438, mating behaviour was observed; two freshly hatched Red Admirals being observed in cop on 7 October. This record was double-checked by me since Tucker (1997) observed that ‘hardly anyone has seen a paired couple of Red Admirals in the wild in the British Isles’. The second detailed observation was from a Bawdsey garden, TM 3440, where Lydia Calvesbert observed the same Red Admiral throughout July, August and into September quartering a specific part of the lawn, with no nectar source obvious. It was finally decided that the homemade paper making of her daughter, an art student, on that part of the lawn, was the attractant. She didn’t use any chemicals but included dried seaweed and beach flowers. The butterfly kept close to her during the making process, presumably seeking out any salts and minerals available.
Two separate observations were made by Doug Ewels of Red Admirals flying out to sea, on the beach at Dunwich, TM 4870, on 25 October, and at North Lowestoft, opposite the lighthouse, TM 5594, on 28 October. Evidence of attempted southward migration in this species is mentioned in Mendel and Piotrowski (1986) and Steward (2001). The first record I have received of a Red Admiral attracted to a moth lamp came from Neil Sherman, on October 12 at Ipswich Golf Club, TM 207433.
In my own Ipswich garden, TM 169461, a Red Admiral was observed, and photographed on Buddleia, on which the normally red outer bands of the hind wings were a mainly straw yellow colour. Ken Willmott of Butterfly Conservation could not name this aberration, noted just once on 16 September, suggesting (pers com) that there was either an absence of pigmentation, as in Meadow Browns with white wing patches. These aberrations being often being unnamed could be due to pathological variety due to scale defects. The scales could be curved or deformed instead of flat and lying in organised rows like slates, leading to colour being reflected differently from normal scales. On a visit with the Surrey branch of Butterfly Conservation to the Natural History Museum in London I was able to inspect several boxes of Red Admiral aberration, including some similar to my observed specimen. A subsequent letter received a reply from Geoff Martin, Curator (Moths and British Butterflies) stating that he could find ‘no example exactly corresponding to your slide. There are, however, three specimens without an aberrational name that have pale patches on the red band of the hind wing, similar to your specimen. This variation was apparently not major enough to warrant an aberrational name’.
The final observation was from John Mullen, Royal Avenue, Lowestoft. I quote from his letter: ‘on Christmas Day morning (I observed) a Red Admiral…’.
I was able to examine this myself and can confirm it is genuine. Mark Tunmore, editor of Atropos, commented that ‘it does show how resilient this species may be’ (pers com), that it was ‘pretty exceptional’, adding that ‘even given that the pupa was in a car port it obviously didn’t get a great deal of respite from the weather; so this is very definitely the latest date I know of for a Red Admiral emerging outdoors in the UK.’ Regrettably, I have recently been told that the butterfly didn’t survive.
Richard Stewart,
Suffolk Butterfly Recorder
References
Mendel, H and Piotrowski, S H (1986) ‘The Butterflies of Suffolk’. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich.
Stewart, R (2001) ‘The Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies’. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich.
Tucker, M. (1997). ‘The Red Admiral’. Butterfly Conservation. Dedham, Essex.
Don't forget you can download the whole of each White Admiral as a .zip file.
(Typically under 700 kb) ~ See the top menu.