Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly - Aglais urticae

This is one of the few butterflies that hibernate as adults, and you may come across them indoors in the dead of winter. In Britain they first emerge in March, and in mild years they are still seen on the wing as late as October. In mild winters their hibernation is sometimes interrupted on warm January or February days, when they can sometimes be seen basking on south-facing walls.

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

Further afield, the Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly can be found throughout Europe (and eastwards to the Pacific Coast), from the Mediterranean right into northern Scandinavia.

Small Tortoiseshell butterflies are particularly fond of thistles, and they are often to be seen beside spate rivers in Britain. These common butterflies are also attracted to Buddleia blossom in gardens and on railways embankments. The larval food plant is Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica. In some parts of England, notably the Midlands, the common name Bobby Howler was applied to the Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly, but the reason for this is obscure.

The Large Tortoiseshell butterfly (Nymphalis polychloros) is similar in appearance but does not have the large black patch on the underside of the hind wing. This butterfly is now very rare in Britain and indeed extinct in most regions, turning up occasionally but very locally in parts of southern England and Wales.

Studying butterflies and moths...