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The semi-torpid creature was placed carefully in a safe place, there hopefully to remain until the spring. It would remind us in the long winter months of the certainty of another summer, even though its own survival was not guaranteed because an exceptionally warm day in winter might cause it to become active and expend vital energy – enough to cause its death. It may even reach the outdoors where it would almost certainly perish. Hence, it is never a good idea to release one outside. A back room or outhouse where there is no temperature fluctuation is the ideal place for successful hibernation. If may seem odd that a butterfly chooses to enter a house at all, but the same kind of conditions may be found there as occur in more natural hibernating places, like hollow trees or rocky enclaves.
Since that day in late August, I have found no less than four dead butterflies of this same species inside the house, one of which was possibly the individual we saved from its untimely end. I have no idea why they died, but perhaps the persistent high temperatures in late September had something to do with it.
The Small Tortoiseshell is a wanderer and likely to be encountered in almost any situation in Cornwall, from the top of a wild moor to an urban garden. Using hedgerows as a means of crossing the countryside, they seek out sheltered, warm places and frequently these are well planted gardens. Here they delight us, alongside Red Admirals, Peacocks and Painted Ladies, as they festoon our flowering Buddleias to feast on the nectar. They seem to prefer purple or mauve flowers and the highest numbers I have seen, 34, have been clustered on the flowers of Water Mint Mentha aquatica. Common in the Duchy, as it is in all of Britain and parts of northern Europe, its habit of entering homes and sheds makes it familiar to most people, and endearing, too, as it appears to trust us.
Unlike many butterflies that spend the winter as caterpillars, the adult Small Tortoiseshell may be seen on the wing very early or very late in the season because of its hibernating habit. Once the season gets underway, however, a daily pattern of activity is evident, particularly with males. Morning sees them quite mobile, spending their time basking and feeding, whilst the afternoon is the time when they set up a territory, defending it from rival males and courting any female that comes by.
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