red admiral

not listed

N5 - Secure

S4S5B - Apparently Secure to Secure Breeding

not listed

Red admiral is a easily recognized, migratory, medium-sized, brushfooted butterfly. It has a wingspan of 1¾″ to 3″. Females are slightly larger than males. There are two distinct forms, the larger and brighter summer form and the smaller and duller winter form.

The outer edge of the forewing is slightly scalloped and the tip (apex) is squared off. On the upper side of the forewing there is a a broad reddish-orange band that extends from the median area at the leading (costal) margin to the submarginal area at the inner margin. The area inside the band (discal area) is dark brown. The area outside of the band (apex) is black with a large, subapical white spot and a curved row of 5 smaller apical spots. On the summer form the band is interrupted, on the winter form it is not.

The hindwing is rounded. The upper side of the hindwing is dark brown with a broad, reddish-orange marginal band. Within the orange band there is a small blue spot near the anal angle and a row of 4 small black dots.

The underside of the forewing is dark brown in the discal area, unevenly blue and black in the median area, and light brown at the apex. There is a pinkish-orange band mirroring the band on the upperside. The white markings on the upperside are mirrored on the underside with 1 large and 3 small white spots and 2 black-rimmed brown spots.

The underside of the hindwing is finely mottled and banded with light brown, dark brown, and black.

The eyes are brown and hairy. The legs are hairy.

The caterpillar is variable in color and up to 1½″ long. Though fierce looking, they are harmless to the touch. They are usually finely spotted. The spots are the expanded base of the hairs (seta). The thorax and abdomen are often pale green and black with white spots, sometimes yellow with black spots, black with white spots, black with yellow spots, or light green with white spots. On the thorax and each abdominal segment there is a long, thick, stiff, branched spine (scolus) in the middorsal, subdorsal, supraspiracular, spiracular, and subspiracular regions. On light-colored caterpillars the expanded base of the scoli are often reddish-orange. There are often cream-colored spots between and just below the spiracles on abdominal segments 1 through 7. These spots sometimes are joined into a single broad, jagged stripe. The head has is black with short, pale seta and unbranched spines but no scoli. The base of the leg-like structure (proleg) on each side of the middle abdominal segments is often pale orange.

Mature caterpillars are found from June onward.

1¾″ to 3″ wingspan

Moist areas including fields, marshes, meadows near woodlands, forest edges and openings, parks, trails, suburban yards, and gardens.

Two broods: summer form mid-June to early September; winter form late August to mid-October and mid-April to June.

Early stage caterpillars create a communal nest by tying up with silk the leaves at the tip of a plant shoot. Later stage caterpillars create solitary shelters by folding under the sides of the leaf and securing it with silk.

Adults are strongly territorial. They have an erratic rapid flight.

The male will perch in a sunlit spot in the afternoon and wait for a female to fly by. After mating, the female will lay eggs singly or stacked in chains or up to 8 or more on the upperside of host plant leaves. The larva molts four times before pupating. The winter form adult migrates south in the fall, overwinters in a warmer area, and returns north in the spring. Some red admirals overwinter in south Texas.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis), small-spike false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), Canadian woodnettle (Laportea canadensis), common hop (Humulus lupulus), and Japanese hop (Humulus japonicus).

Prefers sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings. Also nectars at flowers.

Sources

7, 20, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 71, 82.

Common, periodically abundant

This species experiences periodic population explosions. In 2012 it was abundant throughout Minnesota.

Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) migration is well documented in Europe but less so on this side of the Atlantic. It is known that some red admirals in parts of their North American range migrate south in the fall, and some stay behind. It is not known how many non-migratory individuals in the northern parts of their range successfully overwinter. It is thought that the migration is one way, that the individuals that migrate south in the fall are not the same individuals that move north in the spring. The distance of the southward migration is not known, whether it is all of the way or only part of the way to the southern limits of their range.

Some authors recognize two subspecies, one occurring in North America, the other in Europe.

The Red Admiral Butterfly in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.

I had about 25 of them on a Linden tree.

Unknown type butterfly eating flowing tree sap (bur oak)

Front rock garden plants. It was around 11am and sunny.

Location: near Houston, MN

Location: Quiring, MN

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge

The Red Admiral Butterfly in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.

Location: Nine Mile Creek, Bloomington, MN

Location: Austin, MN

I had about 25 of them on a Linden tree.

Location: Canby, MN (Yellow Medicine County)

Unknown type butterfly eating flowing tree sap (bur oak)

Location: Pine Island, MN

Front rock garden plants. It was around 11am and sunny.