Red Admiral butterfly
@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
@LindaOHio (181717)
• United States
15 Oct 20
Beautiful picture. Thank you for the information on this butterfly.