Vanessa atalanta

Red admiral
	Dorsal view
	Ventral view
Conservation status
	; Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Vanessa
Species:	V. atalanta
Binomial name
	Vanessa atalanta; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
	V. a. atalanta; V. a. rubria (Fruhstorfer, 1909);
Synonyms
	Papilio atalanta Linnaeus, 1758 ; Pyrameis ammiralis Godart, 1821 ; Pyrameis atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758) ;

Vanessa atalanta, the red admiral or, previously, the red admirable,^[3] is a well-characterized, medium-sized butterfly with black wings, red bands, and white spots. It has a wingspan of about 2 inches (5 cm).^[4] It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The red admiral is widely distributed across temperate regions of North Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.^[5] It resides in warmer areas, but migrates north in spring and sometimes again in autumn. Typically found in moist woodlands, the red admiral caterpillar's primary host plant is the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica); it can also be found on the false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica).^[6] The adult butterfly drinks from flowering plants like Buddleia and overripe fruit. Red admirals are territorial; females will only mate with males that hold territory. Males with superior flight abilities are more likely to successfully court females. It is known as an unusually calm butterfly, often allowing observation at a very close distance before flying away, also landing on and using humans as perches.

^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 - Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Vanessa Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
^ Oxford Living Dictionaries. red admirable. Oxford University Press. retrieved March 30, 2017.
^ Shalaway, Scott (2004). Butterflies in the Backyard. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8117-2695-5.
^ Opler, Paul A.; Krizek, George O. (1984). Butterflies East of the Great Plains: An Illustrated Natural History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801829383. OCLC 9412517.
^ Bryant, Simon; Thomas, Chris; Bale, Jeffrey (November 1, 1997). "Nettle-feeding nymphalid butterflies: temperature, development and distribution". Ecological Entomology. 22 (4): 390–398. Bibcode:1997EcoEn..22..390B. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2311.1997.00082.x. ISSN 1365-2311. S2CID 84143178.

[1] "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 - Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved May 8, 2020.

[funet-2] "Vanessa Fabricius, 1807" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

[3] Oxford Living Dictionaries. red admirable. Oxford University Press. retrieved March 30, 2017.

[4] Shalaway, Scott (2004). Butterflies in the Backyard. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8117-2695-5.

[:0-5] Opler, Paul A.; Krizek, George O. (1984). Butterflies East of the Great Plains: An Illustrated Natural History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801829383. OCLC 9412517.

[:1-6] Bryant, Simon; Thomas, Chris; Bale, Jeffrey (November 1, 1997). "Nettle-feeding nymphalid butterflies: temperature, development and distribution". Ecological Entomology. 22 (4): 390–398. Bibcode:1997EcoEn..22..390B. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2311.1997.00082.x. ISSN 1365-2311. S2CID 84143178.

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