Butterfly/moth ID

[Dannytsg]

Can anyone ID this for me? My wife found it in our garden today stuck to the floor due to the rain. She brought it in helped it dry and then released it.

Thought it was a bit late in the year but must be the milder weather

 

[Mesquite]

Red Admiral butterfly

 

[Harvestman]

Red Admiral butterfly

Nope. That is a small tortoiseshell butterfly. At this time of year it will be looking for an overwinter hibernation site, so best thing to do is stick it in a shed or something like that, where it will avoid the frost.

For comparison, this is a Red Admiral

 

[Dannytsg]

Thank you for that

 

[Mesquite]

Nope. That is a small tortoiseshell butterfly. At this time of year it will be looking for an overwinter hibernation site, so best thing to do is stick it in a shed or something like that, where it will avoid the frost.

That's what you get for using a smart phone with a dumb operator

 

[Robbi]

You sure ?

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-red-admiral-butterfly-image3820428

 

[Trencakey]

Definite Small Tortoiseshell

 

[Harvestman]

You sure ?

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photos-red-admiral-butterfly-image3820428

Yes, 100% certain. That link has it wrong too. Ask yourself why there is no red on their alleged red admiral, just orange.

 

[Harvestman]

To put it beyond doubt, here are the relevant pages from the UK Butterflies website.

Small tortoiseshell http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=urticae

Red admiral http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=atalanta

 

[Robbi]

http://london.iwitness24.co.uk/en/p...erfly-enjoying-the-early-spring-sunshine.html

This one must be wrong as well then.

 

[Harvestman]

http://london.iwitness24.co.uk/en/p...erfly-enjoying-the-early-spring-sunshine.html

This one must be wrong as well then.

Robbi, I am only surprised at how many people fail to correctly identify one of our commonest butterflies.

Actually, maybe I'm not.