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Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Image Taken on 29 Oct 2006 at 13:35    Image of day on 01 Nov 2006

Surprised to see a few Red Admiral Butterflies about even on a sunny and not too cold day this late in the year.


Ref: 20061101_d10_20061029_1335_044 red admiral butterfly on apple tree bark(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 12 Jul 2020 at 08:51    Image of day on 19 Aug 2020

A Red admiral Butterfly feasting on a Blackberry flower.


Ref: 20200819_d73_20200712_0851_025 red admiral butterfly on blackberry flower(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 19 Sep 2006 at 11:00    Image of day on 07 Oct 2006

This Red Admiral Butterfly was in a pool of sunlight that makes it glow.


Ref: 20061007_p32_20060919_1100_341 red admiral butterfly on blackberry fruit (crop 1)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 17 Sep 2006 at 13:17    Image of day on 24 Sep 2006

A pair of images (second tomorrow) that show a Red Admiral Butterfly with wings closed and then momentarily opened


Ref: 20060924_d10_20060917_1317_187 red admiral butterfly on blackberry fruit seq 1 of 2(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 17 Sep 2006 at 13:17    Image of day on 25 Sep 2006

A pair of images (first yesterday) that show a Red Admiral Butterfly now with wings momentarily opened.


Ref: 20060925_d10_20060917_1317_194 red admiral butterfly on blackberry fruit seq 2 of 2(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 03 Jul 2016 at 15:44    Image of day on 20 Aug 2016

Our first Red Admiral Butterfly this year, warming itself on the afternoon sun-warmed wall of our garage.


Ref: 20160820_df3_20160703_1544_149 red admiral butterfly on garage wall (1st of 2016) (adjusted crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 01 Sep 2016 at 18:10    Image of day on 22 Oct 2016

An almost pristine Red Admiral Butterfly warming itself nicely centred on a leaf in the sunshine. Ahh!


Ref: 20161022_df3_20160901_1810_022 red admiral butterfly on leaf(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 16 Sep 2009 at 12:45    Image of day on 25 Oct 2009

Not much by way of butterflies on show now - just the odd tatty speckled wood. So this lovely Red admiral has to be counted as a bonus.


Ref: 20091025_db1_20090916_1245_031 red admiral butterfly on mallow flower(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 28 Jun 2019 at 12:30    Image of day on 22 Aug 2019

A Red Admiral Butterfly on an Ox-eye daisy flower ...


Ref: 20190822_df5_20190628_1230_214 red admiral butterfly on ox-eye daisy flower with proboscis rolled up (crop 1)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 28 Jun 2019 at 12:30    Image of day on 22 Aug 2019

... but not feeding. Here you see details of the curled up Proboscis.


Ref: 20190822_df5_20190628_1230_214 red admiral butterfly on ox-eye daisy flower with proboscis rolled up (crop 2 proboscis detail)(r+mb id@432).jpg

Image Taken on 18 Sep 2012 at 16:13    Image of day on 25 Oct 2012

This year we have had a lovely and atypical show of 10 or 20 at once of Red Admiral butterflies. We normally see them on our Yellow Buddleia, but this one was basking on a River Birch tree (Betula nigra) which is apparently a USA native. Anyway, we were taken by the colour contrasts.


Ref: 20121025_df1_20120918_1613_127 red admiral butterfly on river birch tree trunk (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 19 Sep 2024 at 15:50    Image of day on 27 Oct 2024

This Red Admiral Butterfly resting quietly on a thistle seed head opened and closed their wings several times.


Ref: 20241027_d72_20240919_1550_011+1551_016 red admiral butterfly on thistle seed head wings closed and open (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 23 Aug 2016 at 13:42    Image of day on 11 Oct 2016

Atypically choosing this long flowering yellow Buddleia while the white variety is still in flower, a Red Admiral Butterfly feeds and shows the underside of the wings.


Ref: 20161011_e65_20160823_1342_024 red admiral butterfly on yellow buddleia(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 23 Sep 2007 at 09:57    Image of day on 28 Oct 2007

17yrs ago we inherited a buddleia that flowers for months after the others finish. Here the original plant (though much propagated) is providing nectar for a Red Admiral Butterfly.


Ref: 20071028_p34_20070923_0957_699 red admiral butterfly on yellow buddleia(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 04 Oct 2021 at 10:54    Image of day on 17 Nov 2021

The only regular Butterfly sightings this October are a few pristine Red Admirals, mostly using our Yellow Buddleia for fuel.
Our venerable (30 years old) Butterfly ID book says that these migrants mostly die when winter arrives, but a few survive to spring. But it seems that decades on they do overwinter but don't 'Hibernate'. An article from George Pilkington's site 'Nurturing Nature' discusses the whole issue at
https://nurturing-nature.co.uk/wildlife-garden-videos/red-admiral-butterflies-do-they-hibernate-in-britain/ .


Ref: 20211117_d72_20211004_1054_034 red admiral butterfly on yellow buddleia flower(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 03 Sep 2019 at 10:15    Image of day on 27 Oct 2019

Two views of a Red Admiral Butterfly feeding on the flower of the moment - a Yellow Buddleia that we expect to flower until the first serious frost.


Ref: 20191027_df3_20190903_1015_707+1014_693 red admiral butterfly on yellow buddleia flowers shows both sides of wing 2+1 of 2 (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 11 Oct 2020 at 11:16    Image of day on 26 Nov 2020

There seem to be several Red Admiral Butterflies feeding around the site. This one is on Yellow Buddleia that goes on flowering until the first hard frost. You can see the Butterfly's Proboscis tightly wound.


Ref: 20201126_df3_20201011_1116_095 red admiral butterfly on yellow buddleia with view of coiled proboscis(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 03 Oct 2024 at 14:12    Image of day on 11 Nov 2024

This Red Admiral Butterfly was sunning themselves on the back rail of a bench at the edge of the Meadow, periodically opening and closing the wings. The air temperature was quite low and it took a while before warm enough to flutter away.


Ref: 20241111_d72_20241003_1412_019+1413_027+021 red admiral butterfly opening wings while warming on wood bench armrest (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 28 Aug 2019 at 11:09    Image of day on 22 Oct 2019

A Red Admiral Butterfly perched on a decidedly caterpillar munched Hawthorn leaf.


Ref: 20191022_df3_20190828_1109_070 red admiral butterfly resting on hawthorn leaf(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 14 Sep 2023 at 10:41    Image of day on 05 Nov 2023

A close look at a Red Admiral Butterfly with his figure-of-eight cross section proboscis deep between Blackberry druplets.
Blackberries are actually known as an 'aggregate fruit 'composed of small druplets.


Ref: 20231105_df3_20230914_1041_085 red admiral butterfly showing proboscis in blackberry fruit(r+mb id@768).jpg

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