Small Tortoiseshell

Description:

The adult is striking, with its dark body and red and yellow wings, which have a row of blue dots around the rear edge. However the underwings are dull, which helps to conceal stationary or hibernating individuals. When threatened, resting individuals rapidly open their wings, presenting the dramatic display of colours. This can frighten away young or inexperienced birds

Habitat:

Semi-rural, open fields

Notes:

Interesting info from Wikipedia: Once among the most common butterflies, in Europe and temperate Asia temperate, this butterfly is in very strong and very rapid decline, at least in Western Europe. This decline cannot be explained by the decline of its host plant, because the latter (nettle) is on the contrary very present and even enjoys the general eutrophication of the environment. The chrysalis is sometimes eaten by wasps, but these are also in strong regression.The effect of other phenomena are still poorly understood (environmental degradation, air pollution, contamination by pesticides). Scientific evidence shows that the summer drought is a cause of declining populations, because larvae grow normally on drenched leaves (but hatchlings were even rarer the wet summers of 2007 and 2008). However, before the year 2000, according to data from an English Butterfly monitoring program, there was a good correlation between reproductive success, the abundance of populations of this species and the host plant moisture stress. From 1976 to 1995, the butterfly had more success in summers that were cool and wet at the beginning of summer than when it is was hot and dry. This butterfly may then be sensitive to global warming.