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Red Admiral in the garden this morning.

Four butterflies seen this morning (13th) within five minutes walk of home. Very sunny, but probably only just 10 degrees.

The first one, a Red Admiral, flew up from a nettle patch by the road and disappeared. Here are the other three...I was surprised at the condition of the Specklie - if it didn't emerge since the sun reappeared on Monday, it must have done so way back in October. It looks more than 48 hours old - but less than three weeks!

Dave

Oh … … I just got dive-bombed again. He is still there just what I needed as I am having a difficult day

edit: on the way back, half-an-hour later, I noticed he had a mate with him. Missing a chunk of hindwing but still looking good basking on the autumnal foliage:

David Lazarus wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2024 2:16 pm...I am very lucky to have a green space so close to me. It has a south-facing shrub boundary covered with flowering Hedera helix in places, which is loved by Red Admiral at this time of year. There were also busy Ivy Bees and several White-tailed Bumblebee queens. This is the best place - the butterflies love to bask on the wooden bench...

That looks to be a fabulous late season hotspot, David.

Practically all the ivy flowers have gone over near me. It's always at that point when Red Admirals become trickier to find.

David M wrote: ↑Thu Nov 14, 2024 9:31 am That looks to be a fabulous late season hotspot, David.

Practically all the ivy flowers have gone over near me. It's always at that point when Red Admirals become trickier to find.

So true David - the majority of ivy flowers are finished here and around the places I have been too. But here, for some reason, it lasts so long - maybe because there is so much of it; it is south-facing and high; as well as being a perfect little scallop that provides a lot of shelter and warmth. Very lucky

The sun is out so I might even catch another glimpse - this time last year I was seeing half-a-dozen each time I went out well into the third week of November, I think.

Single Red Admiral on the remaining ivy flowers in my garden yesterday lunchtime. Melksham, Wiltshire

I can’t say that I actively look for butterflies in November but this will definitely be my latest .

This Red Admiral has been flying around outside my office in London for the last two days

A lovely afternoon here - full sun. Despite the 9C temperature there were two Red Admiral high up in the ivy flowers, so high it was hard to make out who was who. The one on the right was the easiest to identify as it had a chunk missing on the hindwing, but I could not tell whether the other one was the same as before:
This one turned out to be a third one this week and the fourth one this November - which surprisingly is the same as November last year so far. To my delight it came down to bask on the fallen leaves near my feet - a little bit tatty but still a joy to the heart:
The first one appears to have flown which I am happy about as the temperatures are due to drop with the first autumn frost here forecast for next Tuesday 19th November.

That will make it 26 days since my last sighting of a female Wall along the Essex Coastal Saltmarsh - approximately 26 days to reach 3rd instar means it is touch-and-go whether the eggs laid by the 3rd brood will survive to reach adulthood in the Spring

But I have hope the little blighters will be having fun at my expense again when I return to find them.

Monday 11th:

Red Admiral seen at Bracelet Bay on the Gower coast.

Andy02 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2024 10:06 amThis Red Admiral has been flying around outside my office in London for the last two days

We used to get late Red Admirals flying on the sun-facing southern side of our workplace, Andy. It was mainly glass, which absorbs the heat and we'd often see them flying around as if they were trying to take advantage of the warmth generated by the windows radiating the reflected sunlight.

A very autumnal looking Speckled Wood at work on Wednesday.

There were still a few Red Admiral and Common Darter about in the sunnier moments too. Also a male Winter Moth with wings held in Small-Heath-at-rest position.

Wednesday 13th, Port Eynon, Gower:

Red Admiral 4
Peacock 1

Surprisingly, given the 8C temperature and moderate breeze, the two Red Admiral from Friday are still present at the ivy wall. Being south-facing and scallop-shaped, it creates such a good microclimate for Red Admiral that it has become the spot to see them so late in the season. Out in the open the temperature is predicted to feel like 3C. However, with the shelter, direct sunshine, and the heat radiating from the glossy ivy leaf surface it probably warms the wings of the Red Admiral to 15C - maybe higher? Anyway, enough for them to fly around happily nectaring on the ivy flowers inbetween long periods of basking:
Once again they were high up when I got there at around 11.30 this morning, but the tatty one is very obliging and seems to enjoy the golden autumnal leaf fall to warm itself up:
I am starting to enjoy their presence very much hoping they fly off to pastures new, warm and full of lush nettles and attractive mates before the impending cold spell descends which will no doubt kill them off.

A high of around 11 degrees at noon today (17th) on my local patch, but more importantly a bit of sunshine. I was not surprised to see a Red Admiral (in fact I saw the same one twice - in separate spots ninety minutes apart)......but didn't expect to find two quite different Speckled Woods. The first was the individual I had come across on 13th......but the second was if anything slightly newer.Both were flying and basking in very sheltered sunny nooks - as you might expect.

Dave

Thursday 14th, Gower Inn Woodland:

Red Admiral 2

Friday 15th, Bracelet Bay, Gower:

Red Admiral 2

Not surprisingly perhaps, the two Red Admiral remaining on the ivy wall last Sunday 17th have either flown south [and who could blame them] or they are hiding under a leaf despite the full sun. With below average temperatures for Essex [3° feels like -3°C] and the first autumn frost overnight, that could be it for the butterfly season here in Chelmsford, Essex. In 2023 the last Red Admiral sighting was also on the 17th November but a Brimstone appeared on the 23rd to be my last butterfly sighting of the year.

My first butterfly of 2024 was not until the 14th March and was also a Brimstone. That is nearly 4 months away.

David Lazarus wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2024 3:04 pm Not surprisingly perhaps, the two Red Admiral remaining on the ivy wall last Sunday 17th have either flown south [and who could blame them] or they are hiding under a leaf despite the full sun. With below average temperatures for Essex [3° feels like -3°C] and the first autumn frost overnight, that could be it for the butterfly season here in Chelmsford, Essex. In 2023 the last Red Admiral sighting was also on the 17th November but a Brimstone appeared on the 23rd to be my last butterfly sighting of the year.

My first butterfly of 2024 was not until the 14th March and was also a Brimstone. That is nearly 4 months away.

Nothing flying round my way either, David.

Comparing notes with you, my first 2023 sighting was a Peacock on 2nd February and the last (also a Peacock) was on 8th December after a very chilly spell last November. My first sighting of 2024 was a Red Admiral on 19th February, and with much warmer weather returning at the weekend it wouldn't surprise me to see another one before the end of the year. Fingers crossed!

Dave

25 November, Red Admiral, Brighouse, West Yorkshire. Flying when the sun appeared after a few days of snow, heavy rain and strong winds.