Reply to Grannyanne and Mary
Four British butterflies are adult during winter: brimstone, comma, small tortoiseshell and peacock. All other species pass the winter as egg, caterpillar or chrysalis. Older textbooks also give large tortoiseshell, but this is now extinct here as a regularly breeding species. It may have been replaced with red admiral which was always said not to be able to survive our cold wet British winter weather. It is now so often seen in December and January that hibernation must be occurring, rather than migration.
All these butterflies seek out dark sheltered places. Natural hibernation sites are in ivy and clematis thickets, hollow logs and trees, caves and rock cavities. Sheds, greenhouses, lofts, garages, compost bins and even spare rooms are also occupied. The fact that these butterflies are so common and widespread means that they are very able to survive, despite the cold winter weather.
