Late Larvae

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SteveMcBill
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Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
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Late Larvae

Post by SteveMcBill »

Late Larvae:

I was out in the garden on Sunday 11th December 2011 at 11.30 am when I found 6 last instar larvae of the Large White Butterfly (Pieris brassicae). They were actually feeding on Nasturtium on such a cold day. The postcode is L5 3SW in Everton, Liverpool.

I collected 16 larvae in September this year (2011) and 3 made it to adults, the other 13 were parasitized by Apanteles glomeratus. I collected 2 from 11/12/2011 to show the guys in Liverpool Museum's Entomology Department and have left the rest to see if they pupate or just die off from the cold. I have let Laura Sivell know from Butterfly Conservation. Have any of you heard of larvae of this species being found this late in the season ever before? If not ..... do you think this may be a new date record for this species?

Kind Regards,
Paul Finnegan

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