red admiral |
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Vanessa atalanta |
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| Order | Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) |
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| Superfamily | Papilionoidea (Butterflies [excluding skippers]) |
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| Family | Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies) |
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| Subfamily | Nymphalinae (True Brushfoots) |
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| Status |
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| Flight/Season | Two broods from late April to October. |
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| Habitat | Moist woods, yards, parks, marshes, seeps, moist fields. |
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| Identification |
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| Larval Hosts | Plants in the nettle family (Urticaceae), including stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis), Canadian woodnettle (Laportea canadensis), small-spike false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica), Pennsylvania pellitory (Parietaria pensylvanica), and possibly common hop (Humulus lupulus). |
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| Adult Food | Prefers sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings, visiting flowers only when these are not available. Then they will nectar at common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), red clover (Trifolium pratense), aster (Symphyotrichum spp.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa ssp. sativa), among others. |
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| Life Cycle |
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