Tortoiseshell Butterfly on November 19th

I was looking out of the window today, November 19th, and spotted a
Tortoiseshell butterfly which looked in good condition feeding off a
flowering Hebe bush. The Hebe is an evergreen New Zealand species and
in quite a sunny sheltered position. It's not unusual for it to be in
flower into December. I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this
late in the year though.

The first 2 weeks of November have been about 2 degrees C above normal
in the South East of England. This has now given way to frosty nights
but very sunny weather in the daytime.
The cumulative sunshine total for November has been nearly double the
average so far, so
I wonder if some butterflies may have been fooled into thinking it's
already spring?

P.S. I live in North London

<xnichols@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1132408267.134102.112770@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...

>I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this
> late in the year though.

Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them
go to sleep when its cold.

SpiKe > wrote:
>> I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this
>> late in the year though.
>
> Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them
> go to sleep when its cold.

Yes, I've seen a couple of Red Admirals here in Portsmouth - two last week
and one this week - hovering around the roof guttering of terraced houses in
a nearby street, plainly looking for somewhere to hibernate.

Sue
Portsmouth, UK
--
pen-drake location ntl-world-.-com minus hyphens.

EastneyEnder wrote:
> SpiKe > wrote:
>
>>>I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this
>>>late in the year though.
>>
>>Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them
>>go to sleep when its cold.
>
>
> Yes, I've seen a couple of Red Admirals here in Portsmouth - two last week
> and one this week - hovering around the roof guttering of terraced houses in
> a nearby street, plainly looking for somewhere to hibernate.
>
> Sue
> Portsmouth, UK

Hi Sue!

Apparently the latest sighting of a tortoiseshell last year was
December 4th, so apparently it´s not such a rare occurrence.

SpiKe wrote:
> <xnichols@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1132408267.134102.112770@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>
>
> >I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this
> > late in the year though.
>
> Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them
> go to sleep when its cold.

Triffid wrote:
> Hi Sue!

Hmmmm might have known you'd pop up on a butterfly thread.

EastneyEnder wrote:
> Triffid wrote:
>
>>Hi Sue!
>
>
> Hmmmm might have known you'd pop up on a butterfly thread.
>

Surprised to see you tho. Like I said - Hi!

xnichols@hotmail.com wrote:
> SpiKe wrote:
>
>><xnichols@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>news:1132408267.134102.112770@g43g2000cwa.google groups.com...
>>
>>
>>
>>>I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this
>>>late in the year though.
>>
>>Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them
>>go to sleep when its cold.
>
> Apparently the latest sighting of a tortoiseshell last year was
> December 4th, so apparently it´s not such a rare occurrence.
>

Is it very late, or very early?

The frosts should have taken care of
them, but saw a red admiral in Leicester on Sunday.

"Triffid" <spamme@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:43836495@212.67.96.135...
> xnichols@hotmail.com wrote:
>> SpiKe wrote:
>>
>>><xnichols@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>>news:1132408267.134102.112770@g43g2000cwa.googl egroups.com...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this
>>>>late in the year though.
>>>
>>>Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most
>>>of them
>>>go to sleep when its cold.
>> Apparently the latest sighting of a tortoiseshell last year was
> > December 4th, so apparently it´s not such a rare occurrence.
> >
>
> Is it very late, or very early?

The frosts should have taken care
> of them, but saw a red admiral in Leicester on Sunday.

I saw a White Tailed Bumble Bee Monday afternoon. She didn`t look
very large, but I guess it must have been a queen. She landed in a
sunny, sheltered spot, cleaned her face, and then flew off. We also
had a Red Admiral in the garden last Sunday. It was flying strongly,
but very erratically - probably been sipping at the rotten apples ;-)

Kate

if they had found a decent hibernation spot, they should've been safe
from frosts and 'woken up' when mild enough. I too saw a red admiral on
the 6th of this month in Kent.

	#1
xnichols@hotmail.com	Tortoiseshell Butterfly on November 19th I was looking out of the window today, November 19th, and spotted a Tortoiseshell butterfly which looked in good condition feeding off a flowering Hebe bush. The Hebe is an evergreen New Zealand species and in quite a sunny sheltered position. It's not unusual for it to be in flower into December. I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this late in the year though. The first 2 weeks of November have been about 2 degrees C above normal in the South East of England. This has now given way to frosty nights but very sunny weather in the daytime. The cumulative sunshine total for November has been nearly double the average so far, so I wonder if some butterflies may have been fooled into thinking it's already spring? P.S. I live in North London

	#2
SpiKe	Re: Tortoiseshell Butterfly on November 19th <xnichols@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1132408267.134102.112770@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com... >I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this > late in the year though. Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them go to sleep when its cold.

	#3
EastneyEnder	Re: Tortoiseshell Butterfly on November 19th SpiKe > wrote: >> I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this >> late in the year though. > > Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them > go to sleep when its cold. Yes, I've seen a couple of Red Admirals here in Portsmouth - two last week and one this week - hovering around the roof guttering of terraced houses in a nearby street, plainly looking for somewhere to hibernate. Sue Portsmouth, UK -- pen-drake location ntl-world-.-com minus hyphens.

	#4
Triffid	Re: Tortoiseshell Butterfly on November 19th EastneyEnder wrote: > SpiKe > wrote: > >>>I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this >>>late in the year though. >> >>Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most of them >>go to sleep when its cold. > > > Yes, I've seen a couple of Red Admirals here in Portsmouth - two last week > and one this week - hovering around the roof guttering of terraced houses in > a nearby street, plainly looking for somewhere to hibernate. > > Sue > Portsmouth, UK Hi Sue!

	#9
Kate	Re: Tortoiseshell Butterfly on November 19th "Triffid" <spamme@microsoft.com> wrote in message news:43836495@212.67.96.135... > xnichols@hotmail.com wrote: >> SpiKe wrote: >> >>><xnichols@hotmail.com> wrote in message >>>news:1132408267.134102.112770@g43g2000cwa.googl egroups.com... >>> >>> >>> >>>>I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly this >>>>late in the year though. >>> >>>Some butterflies live all year (including tortoiseshell) - but most >>>of them >>>go to sleep when its cold. >> Apparently the latest sighting of a tortoiseshell last year was > > December 4th, so apparently it´s not such a rare occurrence. > > > > Is it very late, or very early? The frosts should have taken care > of them, but saw a red admiral in Leicester on Sunday. I saw a White Tailed Bumble Bee Monday afternoon. She didn`t look very large, but I guess it must have been a queen. She landed in a sunny, sheltered spot, cleaned her face, and then flew off. We also had a Red Admiral in the garden last Sunday. It was flying strongly, but very erratically - probably been sipping at the rotten apples ;-) Kate

	#10
Gill	Re: Tortoiseshell Butterfly on November 19th if they had found a decent hibernation spot, they should've been safe from frosts and 'woken up' when mild enough. I too saw a red admiral on the 6th of this month in Kent.