– This is absolutely fantastic, says Einar Niemi. On his plot in Høyvik outside Vadsø, it flutters in black, white and red. He has never seen his wife in his 80-year life. The admiral butterfly actually belongs to the Mediterranean, but this week Niemi’s garden in Vadsø was full of them. It happens after Finnmark had the warmest month of August ever recorded. The temperature was a full 4.7 degrees above normal. In the picture you can see 12 of the at least 32 admirals who sucked nectar from reindeer antlers in Høyvik in Vadsø on Wednesday this week. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn Einar Niemi is fond of nature, and has been a tenacious mountain hiker and keen angler. But he has never noticed the admiral – until this year. – The first ones probably came at the end of July, and then there have been more and more, says Niemi. We count over the swarm in his garden one, two and three times – it’s hard to believe: At least 32 individuals of admiral at the same time. It is a new Finnmark record by a solid margin. Einar Niemi has enjoyed the butterfly invasion for several weeks. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn Solid record listing The admiral does not winter in Norway, but is seen here in the country every year – mostly in the south. They have normally come to Finnmark completely randomly and individually, according to the registrations on artsobservasjoner.no. In August, three admirals were registered together for the first time; it was in the North Cape. Hammerfest struck with eight individuals on Monday 2 September. But that record only stood for a couple of days. Around the walls of Einar Niemi’s house, a few square meters of land are densely overgrown with the flower Reinfann. It doesn’t smell particularly good to a human nose, but is just what the butterflies need for a party these days. The admiral can have a wingspan of up to 72 millimetres, and is quite large in the Norwegian context. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn Migratory butterflies A few kilometers west of Niemi’s house, news finds a new cluster of reindeer fan – and 25 new admirals. With such accumulations, it is not entirely unthinkable that it is about thousands on the move, says Jan Erik Røer. The biologist works on a daily basis in Birdlife Norway and is an administrator for the group Butterflies in Norway on Facebook. Because it is a regular migration, much like the migratory birds do. – In southern Norway, especially along the coast, a few admirals tend to come in around the turn of May – June. They lay eggs, and then we get a new generation that hatches from the end of July onwards, and that flies on. Jan Erik Røer is happy about butterfly invasions from the south, but hopes it will not become the norm in a new climate. At home on Nesodden, Røer has seen very little of the admirals this year. After a deplorable change of weather on 3 June, it was too wet and cold for the butterflies to thrive and breed. Thus, it is unlikely that southern Norwegian admirals have come north this summer. Røer has more faith that they came from the southeast, via the Gulf of Bothnia. Need good winds The admirals die if they try to winter in Norway, but the gang in Finnmark is still not on a suicide mission, assures Røer: They are turning south again. Last year there were a lot of admirals in Nordland, and then a clear move southwards along the coast of South West Norway until October. But they depend on good winds to succeed in their journey to the Mediterranean. – It is not just for a butterfly to fly 3,000-4,000 kilometers. Among the admirals in Kiby outside Vadsø, news was also able to record two thistle butterflies. The thistle butterfly from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco is also visiting Finnmark. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn This species lives in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco in the winter, and has an even more extreme move northwards, with several generations during the summer. Happy matter or sad climate matter? In addition to the admiral and thistle butterfly, several southern butterflies have been registered in Finnmark this summer. Ant swarms, mourning cloaks and swallowtails are among them. The question is whether the flow of fluttering beauties is a happy thing for nature lovers – or, on the contrary, a sad climate thing. Jan Erik Røer catches butterflies systematically, and finds that certain species have gone from being extremely rare to establishing themselves in Norway in a few years. Climate change has already led to the admiral being able to spend the winter in England. The researchers determined that in 2010. – It would have been desirable if there were not a lot of thistle butterflies and admirals in northern Norway every year. That this was a unique year to be happy about, says Røer. The admiral needs nectar in its stomach and good winds at its back to make the trip south to the Mediterranean, where it winters. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn – In northern Norway there are some unique polar butterflies that have a very limited distribution. If you get these southern butterflies instead, it is a sign of the times: a warning that many of the others will disappear, because they are specialists in the northern climate, says Røer. – They are meant to be there, and that you should have this type of exclusive fauna in the Arctic. Røer makes a comparison: – It’s nice to have palm trees, but perhaps they are nicest where they should be? The admiral is happy in the heat, but it does not survive the winter in Norway. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn PS: It is not always so pleasant when Finnmark is invaded by butterflies. The weasel mountain birch borer has larvae that have killed birch forests on a large scale and changed the ecosystem. Published 06.09.2024, at 09.23
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Hot August gives butterfly record in Finnmark – but the heat can threaten local species – news Troms and Finnmark
