Red Admiral Behavior

[burro at panama.gulf.net]

This summer in nw FL has been, I'm sure you've heard, extremely dry. 
Arid, in fact.  There are virtually no butterflies here.  I see an
occasional hairstreak, and there are a few Eastern Swallowtails now, but
little else.  Caterpillars have dried up and so have the leaves.  Few
wildflowers.  Nothing bloomed in my garden.  Everything is shrivelled.
I lie.  There are some abelia and butterfly bushes, but this is an
alarming year.  I lived in the Mojave for years.  You expect hot, dry
and occasionally windy weather.  But not here so near the Gulf.

Anyway...I have an air conditioning unit under a window in the living
room.  Two to four Red Admirals visit it about 4 p.m. several nights a
week to spiral about each other in its vortex.  They come in close to
the unit, spiral up and are thrown out only to repeat it for an hour or
so.

Can anyone shed light on this?  Actually, it looks like fun.

May