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I have a fresh batch of Red Admiral butterflies that have been eclosing over the last few days (30 so far), and have kept most of them in my Gazebo butterfly enclosure…the temporary one while the new permanent one is in the process of being built.
What interests me is that some pair, or sit together very close at dusk, as if they are ‘thinking’ about pairing, where as others like to just lurk by themselves as loners. They are all feeding well etc, and as well enjoy a daily mid afternoon misting to keep the moisture up as I guess they would get if they were in a forest area.
Does anyone know much about the amount of pheramones (?) Red Admirals seem to give off, in comparison th Yellow Admirals, and the magpie moths? I’m wondering if its a lot less…or why they seem to have less of a sex drive than the others?
I’m lucky to have a mix of male and females so far, and lots of nettle and nectar plants for them….and they have plenty of room (4 metres by 4 metres by 2.5 metres high) for chasing etc.
With my last batch I did get females laying fertile eggs, but a lot of them didn’t bother breeding, but just enjoyed life as spinsters/batchelors.
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