Over-wintered adults typically awaken in late March or early April, and remain on the wing until early May. They are usually seen as singletons, nectaring at dandelion, daisies or sallow catkins, often in the vicinity of nettle patches.

On cool days in spring they do not bask, but instead warm themselves up by shivering their wings prior to flight. The rapid shivering generates warmth by friction, and enables the butterfly to fly even in quite cool conditions. On warm days they frequently bask on bare soil or low foliage, but hot sunny conditions cause them to settle for long periods on bare soil with their wings closed, at which time the sombre "tortoiseshell" pattern on the underside affords them excellent camouflage. When settled the abdomen is usually raised so that minimum contact is made with the hot substrate.

Aglais urticae, female ovipositing on stinging nettle, Martin Down, Hampshire © Adrian Hoskins

Males establish vantage points in the early afternoon, from which they await passing females. When a female flies by she is intercepted and the courtship ritual begins. The male chases her until she settles on the ground. If she is receptive she opens her wings and the male approaches her from behind, with his wings also open. He then steps onto her hindwings, which he vigorously drums with with his antennae. The pair then fly a short distance and repeat the process. Any other males which attempt to interfere are briskly chased away by the resident male, who then returns to his female to continue wing-drumming.

This bonding process continues for several hours, until just before dusk, when the female accepts the male's advances. At this point she leads him to a sheltered and shady spot, typically beneath a bush or hedge. Both sexes then hold their wings erect, and the male walks alongside the female, and curves his abdomen to copulate. After about 20 minutes the pair straighten out to face opposite directions. They remain copulated in this position until the following morning.

The summer brood butterflies, which emerge from mid June to early July, will nectar at almost any available wild or cultivated flowers. Their favourite however is undoubtedly creeping thistle. At Noar Hill in July 2009 I watched a female nectaring for over 2 hours at a clump of these flowers. When disturbed by a bee or hoverfly she would leave the thistles and briefly investigate other nearby flowers including marjoram, knapweeds, bramble, scabious and hemp agrimony, but after a quick taste always returned to the thistles.

The second generation is always more abundant than the first, and emerges at the end of August. In late summer Small Tortoiseshells often visit flowery areas in the countryside, where they congregate to nectar at thistles, ragwort and other Compositae. They also commonly visit gardens, where they are strongly attracted to Sedum, Buddleia and michaelmas daisies. Their mission at this time of year is to use every opportunity to gorge on nectar, building up sufficient protein and fat reserves in their bodies to enable them to survive hibernation.

In southern Britain the butterflies fly until late September, when they enter houses, sheds, churches and unheated farm buildings to hibernate. In the north they enter hibernation earlier, typically in late July or early August, after just a few days on the wing. They often hibernate communally - on many occasions I have found groups of 3 or 4 nestling together in an attic or outbuilding, and I once found 17 hibernating adults clustered tightly together on the ceiling in a hotel in Tayside, Scotland.