Red Admirals

When one thinks of Scottish heather at this time of year, when its flowering is at its most impressive, one thinks of it covering the hills. However, both ling and bell heather grow very happily in woodland, as in this coniferous forest near Littleferry. The only difference I've noticed is that bell heather seems to flower later in woodland than it does on the open heath, so it's currently in full flower at the same time as the ling.

The heathers seem to do best along the edges of woodland or open glades, where there's a little more light than in the main forestry. This spot from our walk today is a good example - but what we hadn't expected was to find that this....

....small area of ling was host to ten or more red admirals, all in mint-perfect condition.

Apparently, red admirals are migrants in to Britain each year from Europe and North Africa, feeding on a variety of flowers and laying eggs that hatch from July onwards. Some of the resulting butterflies do manage to overwinter - we've found red admirals in winter in a dark corner of our garden sheds - but most of them die.

Today's butterflies must have been from one hatching. Since red admiral caterpillars feed exclusively on nettles, somewhere near this spot there must be a large but well-chewed nettle patch.