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2005 : Emperors, Admirals etc

The White Admiral can be seen in many woodlands across the county, particularly in the Weald. At national level there has been a number of sightings suggestive of second brood individuals and this trend may indeed be reflected in Graham Champion’s record in September 2004.

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Possibly stimulated by Matthew Oates’ talk in 2003 we are now looking for tree-top assembly areas and recording Purple Emperors fairly widely within West Sussex. Hopefully we will continue to demonstrate that this is not particularly rare butterfly.

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The Red Admiral has a prolonged breeding season throughout the summer and may apparently be found mating and egg laying in November and December. Together with an appearance early in the year, there is increasing evidence of successful overwintering.

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Each year the Painted Lady migrates to Britain from southern Europe and North Africa to breed and redistribute. The national influx in February 2004 shows up well in our records although breeding did not commence until May. The evidence would suggest that there are two broods a year in Sussex but that 2005 appears to have been a particularly poor year for this butterfly.

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In spite of concerns, Small Tortoiseshells were widely recorded in 2005 but were not as frequent as in 2003 and 2004. Although occasionally seen on warm days in January and February, it properly emerges from hibernation in March and begins breeding in May. Adults were encountered late in 2001, 2002 & 2003 but not in 2004 or 2005.

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The Peacock is widespread and common in Sussex. Overwintered individuals are on the wing in the spring from March to June and their progeny are on the wing in July, August and September before beginning their hibernation.

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The Comma is another hibernating species and is therefore common in the spring and autumn. However, a mid-year brood in may also occur in warm years. Our data is perhaps consistent with this pattern, particularly in 2001 and 2002.

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