Short Description
The red admiral’s wings are brownish-black on top with a curved red band and white spots on the curved tips of the black forewings. The undersides are mainly marbled light brown with fine blue veins. The tips of the forewings are clearly indented.
The colouring of the caterpillars is variable, ranging from yellowish to black. The caterpillars have spines and a pale broken longitudinal stripe on the side.
Features
Red admiral
Vanessa atalanta
black wings with a red band and white spots
In the city
The red admiral can often be seen at the edge of the forest and along river banks. In an urban environment, it can be observed searching for food in gardens, allotments and cemeteries. For reproduction, it prefers stinging nettles in sunny to semi-shaded sites.
Fun Facts
The red admiral is very susceptible to cold temperatures; for that reason, it moves south in the first cold days of autumn and returns in spring.
It is a migrating butterfly and is considered a herald of spring in some areas of Germany.
Its caterpillars feed on stinging nettles and more rarely on thistles.
In autumn, in particular, it can be seen on overripe fruits whose juice it ingests.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Sources
Oberseite, Kristian Peters, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanessa_atalanta.jpeg
Unterseite, Andreas Eichler, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2014.07.11.-19-Eilenburg_Hainichen--Admiral.jpg
Settele, J., Steiner, R., Reinhardt, R. & Feldmann, R. (2005) Schmetterlinge. Die Tagfalter Deutschlands, Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Kolligs, D. (2014) Schmetterlinge Norddeutschlands. 100 Tagfalter, Kiel: Wachholtz Verlag.
Seggewiße, E. & Wyman, H.-P. (2015) Schmetterlinge entdecken, beobachten, bestimmen: die 160 häufigsten tagaktiven Arten Mitteleuropas, Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Gerstmaier, R. (2003) Schmetterlinge. Sicher bestimmen mit Foto und Zeichnung, Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.
BUND e.V. (n.d.) Steckbrief des Schmetterlings: Admiral, URL: https://www.bund.net/themen/tiere-pflanzen/schmetterlinge/steckbriefe/tagfalter/admiral/ (Accessed: 19.07.2016).
Nuß, M. (n.d.) Schmetterlinge (Lepidoptera), URL: https://www.insekten-sachsen.de/Pages/TaxonomyBrowser.aspx?id=7 (Accessed: 19.07.2016).
Pollrich, S. (n.d.) 07243 - Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758), URL: https://www.schmetterlinge-sachsen.de/tagfalter/nymphalidae-edelfalter/vanessa-atalanta/ (Accessed: 19.07.2016).
Entomologische Gesellschaft ORION Berlin (n.d.) Schmetterlinge (Lepidoptera), URL: http://www.orion-berlin.de/schmetter/schmetter_gesamt.php (Accessed: 19.07.2016).
Schön, W. (n.d.) Portal für Schmetterlinge/Raupen, URL: http://www.schmetterling-raupe.de/ (Accessed: 19.07.2016).