The red admiral is one of the UK's most familiar butterflies that migrates from North Africa and southern Europe, with welfare considerations around host plant availability and climate change.
Red admiral welfare depends on the availability of stinging nettles for larval development throughout the growing season. Garden management that removes nettles eliminates breeding habitat. Climate change may benefit red admirals through improved winter survival but the long-term effects of warming on their lifecycle are complex. Pesticide use that eliminates nettles or contaminates adult nectar sources reduces population welfare.