White Admiral butterfly - Limenitis camilla

 10th February 2024

A few days ago I decided to check up on my overwintering larvae which have been in two plastic pots in the shed since the autumn. In the picture above, there is a wooden cage with netted sides right at the back. That is where various species are being overwintered. 

There should have been six in each pot.

What I discovered was that the contents of the pots comprised a few brown and very dry and crispy dead leaves. The pots were not airtight, and had completely dried out.

I could not see signs of any hibernating larvae despite searching carefully under magnification.

A friend told me that they can really shrink and desiccate over the winter months so there may be a chance of them being alive. 

I lightly sprayed both pots, added a small sprig of fresh honeysuckle leaves and brought them into the office. 

Today, there appeared to be signs of mould so, I thought I'd have a final inspection before throwing them out.

To my surprise, I found one larvae in the first pot and three in the second. None of the larvae were on the honeysuckle. 

Photo below shows one larvae on 10th February 2024