At this time of year, most of the UK’s insects are laying low. But what should you do if you come across a butterfly this winter?
Several species of butterfly in the UK spend the winter as adults, including the Peacock, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, and Brimstone. Red Admirals are also increasingly able to overwinter in the UK due to our warming climate. Butterflies which spend the winter as adults often tuck themselves away in cool, dark and dry places where they wait for fairer weather in the spring. However, that can mean butterflies make their way into attics and less used rooms inside houses, and, when the heating comes on, they are tricked into thinking spring has arrived and wake up! Here’s what to do if you come across a butterfly this winter.
1) Check if you need to do anything at all.
If you find a butterfly in your shed or other cool, dark place and they are staying still with their wings closed, you can usually leave them where they are. However, if you’re planning on heating the space you find them in, there’s a chance they could wake up, so consider carefully moving them to another cool, dark and dry place where they can spend the rest of the winter. If you find a butterfly outside flying in the winter months, don’t worry, some butterflies occasionally head out to forage on warmer days before returning to their hibernation spot.
2) Find a box.
If you come across a butterfly indoors that’s wide awake and fluttering around, the best thing you can do is to carefully encourage it into a cardboard box and place the box somewhere cool until the butterfly calms down. If it doesn’t want to move, you could gently scoop it up using a brush and place it in its new location.
3) Release into a cool, dark place.
Once the butterfly has calmed down, find a spot that will stay cool, dark and dry throughout the winter – an outhouse, shed or sheltered porch are ideal. Encourage the butterfly to crawl onto and settle on a wall or ceiling.
4) No need to feed.
Butterflies which are dormant don’t have the same energy needs of an active butterfly as their bodily processes slow down, so there’s no need to provide nectar or sugary substances, simply allow them to settle down.
5) Let them out in the spring.
It’s best to relocate butterflies somewhere where there’s a way for the butterflies to get back outside in the spring. But if that’s not possible, just remember to open the doors and let them out when the weather warms up.
To find out more about what happens to butterflies in the winter, visit Winging it through the winter | Butterfly Conservation