I am not seeing them often, maybe a dozen times a year. And they don’t stick around if they are here. I planted lots of false nettle 5 years ago, but no luck getting any eggs.

Red Admirals can overwinter; any seen in early spring may be worn-out individuals that do not live much longer.

When I had significant patches of nettles in my previous yard, I would see RA in early spring, but not at any other time. This is a good reminder to me to plant some nettles in the back 40 (actually 11) to allow for the possibility of RAs to visit and settle down. I'm boosting the general nectar/pollen providing plants, but will also focus on more host plants, as I come across them.

Martha

I always (in season) keep some Clustered Pellitory, Parietaria praetermissa.

Even twice saw R.A.s find it. Visits not repeated.

According to the Wisconsin Butterflies website (see this link - Red Admiral ) their abundance can vary greatly from year to year. The graph of sightings on their webpage peaks in late June to early July, but at my location I've noticed them more in late summer and early fall. I've kept a casual log of the butterflies I've seen in my yard over the last few years, and in 2021 I was seeing Red Admirals on a regular basis in August and early September. Their numbers were definitely lower last year (2022), which I'm guessing may have been related to an unusually dry summer here.

The Wisconsin article indicates that "weather conditions for overwintering Red Admirals to the south, combined with conditions during April and May when they are traveling, determine the number of butterflies we see here in Wisconsin [and other northern regions in summer]".

Red Admiral on my Heptacodium 9/15/22