Early Ontario Red Admiral Sighting

[Chris J. Durden]

Alan,
  Has anyone compiled a range map for *Vanessa atalanta* that shows the
portion of the range that is depopulated annually in winter and must be
recolonized on an annual basis?
  I think this would be a most instructive exercise to start. Anyone
interested? I mean a data spot range map, not a shaded guess-map.
........Chris Durden

 
At 08:13  20/04/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Chris,
>
>Red Admirals do not overwinter in Ontario -- they are strictly an
>immigrant from the south.  Some years they arrive as early as late March
>(March 18 is the record-early date for Point Pelee and Ontario), but the
>biggest numbers enter during May.  Some of the first individuals are
>fairly fresh, but most are worn and all are relatively small (this in
>contrast to the last individuals seen in the fall which are large and
>usually extremely fresh).  Several broods are then produced and persist
>to October over much of southern Ontario, sometimes into November at such
>sites as Point Pelee.  I reside at Point Pelee and have never witnessed
>any southbound movement of the species in the fall.
>
>Alan Wormington,
>currently 40 miles offshore from North Padre Island, Texas
>
>P.S.  Feel free to post this message to the LepList.
>