Possibly slightly off topic (apologies), but I remember one October well
after dark as I was working at my PC something suddenly started fluttering
about like a creature posessed. That was a Small Tortoiseshell too - first
time I'd seen one so late in the year and after dark. I guess it had come in
unnoticed looking for somewhere to hibernate. Maybe the warmth woke it up. I
had to capture it and let it out at the time too. It seemed surreal watching
it flutter off into the darkness.

I can't remember if they hibernate as adults or not. (If not it is doomed
anyway. Otherwise hope it finds a spot to hibernate in before it runs too
low on energy.) I know of one guy who puts the butterflies in a container
and places them in the fridge. That gives them a safe cool dark place to
ensure safe uninterrupted hibernation. then they get released in the spring.

I do remember it getting incredibly mild one day last January (13-15c),
which brought out a Red Admiral butterfly near my office. It fluttered
around before basking in the sun high up on the wall of the building. A warm
spell during the winter can easily confuse hibernating species. So the
weather is important to them as well as us.

Hopefully no danger of the hibernators being interrupted in the next week
then.

-Mike

wrote in message
ups.com...

TerminalVelocity (underscore underscore at) wrote:
Thanks for showing it to me the other day. Unlike the BBC forums most
posts on here seem to make sense and not be rediculously childish. So I
plan
to stick around for a while.

-Mike (hoping the snow gets me off travelling to work on Wednesday. )
Plug mode: Gliding, Weather and other pics at:
http://www.flybywire.dsl.pipex.com/piccies/index.html

wrote in message
ups.com...
Welcome to the group Mike.

Jack


I found a Small Tortoishell fluttering in the front room window at my
mother-in-law's yesterday. I let it out. I hope it survives. I find it
a dilemma on these 'mild' days, because left inside it would just run
out of energy and die.