Red Admiral butterfly

My own image
@ScotMac (1335)
Edinburgh, Scotland
October 14, 2020 4:21pm CST
I spotted this Red Admiral butterfly on bushes near my home when I was walking our daughter's dog (he is staying with us on his holidays 'cos they couldn't take him with them to where they were going). Since it's now nearly the middle of October I thought this was a little late in the year to see a butterfly but, apparently (according to Wikipedia), this particular species of butterfly can actually overwinter through what, in Scotland, can be quite harsh winters. There is a reason for this - when spring comes this butterfly will be one of the earliest insects to emerge and, in doing so, provides one of the first foods for those birds which have gone hungry over the winter. Isn't Mother Nature wonderful!
4 people like this
4 responses
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
14 Oct 20
I just posted about the same butterfly yesterday in my garden. Beautiful!
1 person likes this
@ScotMac (1335)
• Edinburgh, Scotland
14 Oct 20
Didn't know you had this species in the US
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@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
14 Oct 20
@ScotMac Yes we do.
Was surprised to see this beautiful Red Admiral (according to the experts) visiting Dustin's garden this morning. There are still many blooms in the garden, so...
1 person likes this
@ScotMac (1335)
• Edinburgh, Scotland
14 Oct 20
@CarolDM Apparently the Red Admiral's original name was 'Red Admirable'. Another piece of useless trivia clogging up my brain
@LindaOHio (181717)
• United States
15 Oct 20
Beautiful picture. Thank you for the information on this butterfly.
@marlina (154131)
• Canada
14 Oct 20
Interesting info
@thelme55 (77165)
• Germany
14 Oct 20
What a beautiful butterfly. I love watching it.