NEW YORK -- You may have noticed a large number of butterflies in the area recently, particularly those known as red admiral butterflies. Entomologists say they are here in record numbers.

Red admiral butterflies are about half the size of monarch butterflies, and they are common in this part of the country later in the summer. They tend to spend winters in the southeastern United States then work their way north with warm air masses.

"This year it's happened much earlier probably because these warm air currents come up much more than usual. And these are much larger numbers probably because they're surviving over winter much in much larger numbers," said entomologist Derek Kellogg.

Experts say if it wasn't for the large number of red admiral butterflies, they probably wouldn't be noticed.