A butterfly, early or late?

[Llew]

I have a Small Tortoiseshell in the test gear room alighted on a Pelargonium cutting. Been there with its wings open since yesterday. An unheated room.

Should be hibernating at this time of year?

 

[Lazarus]

Not sure about hibernation .... don't they beetle off to foreign parts for the Winter, as a rule?

 

[Llew]

Not sure about hibernation .... don't they beetle off to foreign parts for the Winter, as a rule?

Not sure. A UK Butterfly site mentions it's the time to hibernte, but not where. Further suggestions welcome.

 

[Vipersan]

Watched a very interesting prog on the painted lady BF the other day ..
They do indeed migrate from North Africa ..all the way to Greenland ...
Obviously in breeding batches ...Some however do the 'hop' in one go ..
Thus they can arrive very early in the year here ..
Sadly those dont survive ..and are referred to as 'pioneers' ...
The bulk of the swarm making its way Northwards over Spain France UK etc in breeding 'stops'..
Not sure about yours tho Llew ..
but nonetheless impressive that some can do that journey in a single hop.
rgds
VS

 

[Llew]

Watched a very interesting prog on the painted lady BF the other day ..
They do indeed migrate from North Africa ..all the way to Greenland ...
Obviously in breeding batches ...Some however do the 'hop' in one go ..
Thus they can arrive very early in the year here ..
Sadly those dont survive ..and are referred to as 'pioneers' ...
The bulk of the swarm making its way Northwards over Spain France UK etc in breeding 'stops'..
Not sure about yours tho Llew ..
but nonetheless impressive that some can do that journey in a single hop.
rgds
VS

Yes, that was a brilliant and informative progamme. Presented by Martha Kearney, who also did the one about her bees. I believe she had to abandon her beekeeping after a long while because an allergic reaction set in.

Coincidentally I'm typing this whilst Martha is presenting her World At One Program on BBC Radio 4

 

[Llew]

BBC Radio 4 presenter Martha Kearney: How my beloved bees nearly

 

[Vipersan]

...wouldn't have minded getting my hands on the dish they were using for tracking the painted ladies..
nice

 

[Lazarus]

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some painted ladies. Period.

 

[PaulR]

BBC Radio 4 presenter Martha Kearney: How my beloved bees nearly

Now I hadn't heard that before. Such a shame but at least she has a chance of keeping them again if the desensitisation programme is successful.

It's been quite a few years since my wife and I had any bees. Basically we ran out of places to keep them and so when the last colony died off (the hive was decapitated by a hedge cutter) we didn't pursue replacing them. We now have an offer of a different field to keep a hive in but obtaining a colony is a bit more difficult nowadays with Varroa and Colony Collapse Disorder have severely reduced swarms.

 

[Vipersan]

Happy to help..

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some painted ladies. Period.

 

[Lazarus]

Grrrrrrroooooss!

 

[Vipersan]

Grrrrrrroooooss!

..careful what you wish for...