This specific thread are for those to share their thoughts, photos (or videos) of Red Admiral Butterflies mating in the wild, in the UK. Please share specific times, dates and locations.
I must confess, I had not seen two mating Red Admirals in the wild, in the United Kingdom.
"Those that have witnessed courtship and pairing suggest that the female leads the male to a spot high up in the shaded part of a tree, where mating takes place" -Ref: Page 236, The Life Cycle of British and Irish Butterflies, by Peter Eeles
For me, that made sense because the butterfly would then make use of it's camouflage (wings closed) and roosting habits (thats where I have seen them, getting, last direct sunlight for the day, before retreating into the sheltered canopy).
I previously thought that females were generally mated before migration. In this video link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOMKfopJkgY
“The Red Admiral North of the Alps, migrates to the South, to overwinter”
I did not see a Red Admiral mated in this video, and I assumed they must have been mated North of the Alps, then migrants from the north were filmed in the south.
Please be honest here in this thread, if seen in the wild or otherwise, as I knew newly emerged mated Red Admirals in captivity, could end up on a "stage set" (a bit like a mouse and apple, winner of the BBC Countryfile 2020 calendar).
(I was not saying that, that was dishonest, as it was revealed within the programme and within the rules for the competition).
