Red-spotted Purple or White Admiral
Limenitis arthemis (Drury, 1773)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Limenitidinae
Identification: These two very different forms had once been considered separate species. WHITE ADMIRAL: Upperside is black with broad white median bands on both wings; hindwing has a marginal row of blue dashes and a submarginal row of red dots. Underside is reddish-brown with white median bands as on the upperside. RED-SPOTTED PURPLE: Upperside is blue to blue-green with much iridescence on the outer part of the hindwing. Underside is dark brown. Forewing has 2 red-orange bars near the base of the leading edge; hindwing has 3 red-orange spots near the base and a submarginal row of red-orange spots. The two forms hybridize where their ranges overlap, creating various intermediate forms which may be found in or near the overlap zone.
Wing Span: 2 1/4 - 4 inches (5.7 - 10.1 cm).
Life History: Males perch 3 feet or more above the ground on trees and tall bushes and rarely patrol for females. Eggs are laid singly on tips of host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of many species of trees and shrubs including wild cherry (Prunus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood (Populus), oaks (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), birch (Betula), willows (Salix), basswood (Tilia), and shadbush (Amelanchier).
Adult Food: Sap flows, rotting fruit, carrion, dung, and occasionally nectar from small white flowers including spiraea, privet, and viburnum. White Admirals also sip aphid honeydew.
Habitat: The White Admiral form is usually found in the north in deciduous broad-leaf or mixed evergreen forests dominated by aspen or birch. The Red-Spotted Purple form is usually found further south than the White Admiral, in deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms, and coastal plains.
Range: Alaska and subarctic Canada southeast of the Rocky Mountains to central Texas; east to New England and central Florida. Isolated populations in Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas south into Mexico. The White Admiral form usually occurs north of a line through north central New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minnesota. The Red-spotted Purple form is usually found south of this line. Much hybridization occurs where these forms meet. Comments: The Red-spotted Purple is a mimic of the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Alternate Scientific Names:
Basilarchia arthemis
Get your BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 169 - 192 of 8106 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 01, 2018
Submitted by: WarrenAldrich
Region: Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Jul 31, 2019
Submitted by: geenlist
Region: Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Aug 05, 2019
Submitted by: baileybounder
Region: Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Jun 21, 2019
Submitted by: Bob Crowley
Region: Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Jul 03, 2017
Submitted by: tirvine2020
Region: Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Aug 08, 2020
Submitted by: TJ in Derry
Region: Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Aug 08, 2020
Submitted by: tirvine2020
Region: Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: May 07, 2017
Submitted by: Applegraft
Region: Tolland County, Connecticut, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Jul 28, 2017
Submitted by: St.Jean
Region: Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Dec 16, 2020
Observation date: May 28, 2018
Submitted by: farleys@southsl...
Region: Johnson County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Jul 15, 2018
Submitted by: Mark Koster
Region: Jackson County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Jun 24, 2019
Submitted by: debbiall
Region: Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Aug 09, 2019
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Mills County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Jun 09, 2019
Submitted by: kdwellnitz
Region: Scott County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Aug 23, 2010
Submitted by: camflies
Region: Johnson County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Jun 18, 2020
Submitted by: Gardenz R Us
Region: Linn County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Jun 27, 2020
Submitted by: BillT
Region: Johnson County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Apr 13, 2017
Submitted by: Ldw9802
Region: Wake County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 08, 2020
Observation date: Sep 18, 2020
Submitted by: Shoshie
Region: Champaign County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: azukoff
Verified date: Sep 22, 2020
Observation date: Sep 05, 2020
Submitted by: Diane R Halpin
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 06, 2020
Observation date: Jun 07, 2020
Submitted by: Rose362
Region: Cumberland County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 02, 2020
Observation date: Jul 27, 2017
Submitted by: lisa_me1
Region: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 02, 2020
Observation date: Aug 10, 2020
Submitted by: wtjones
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 10, 2020
Observation date: Jun 14, 2020
Submitted by: Lmunsen
Region: Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Jul 01, 2020
- ‹ previous
- 8 of 338
- next ›