A medium sized red and black coloured butterfly. The upperside is black with a red band across the middle of the forewing, and a white band near the wing tip, the hindwing is black with a red margin. The underside of the forewing is similar to the upperside. The hindwing underside is marbled brown. Males and females are similar. The markings are distinctive and it shouldn’t be confused with any other species.Â
Seen everywhere - ubiquitous.
Cirsium creticum, Cirsium creticum subsp. creticum, Cirsium italicum, Spear Thistle Cirsium vulgare, Common Nettle Urtica dioica, Small Nettle Urtica urens, Hop Humulus lupulus, Pellitory-of-the-wall, Parietaria judaica, Eastern Pellitory-of-the-wall Parietaria officinalis.
Anne Sordinas has observed larvae in Corfu on U. dioica.
The butterfly has multiple broods a year, and is a well-known long distance migrant, so can be found in any sunny location. It is almost certainly one of the earliest butterflies reported at the start of every new year and seems to have benefitted massively from climate change, with all stages of its life cycle now having been reported at all times of the year.
*The information provided in the tables below is based on verified sightings of the Red Admiral submitted via this website since 1st January 2021.
Year | First | Last/latest | # Days |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | 01/01/2023 | 27/11/2023 | 330 days |
2022 | 01/01/2022 | 31/12/2022 | 364 days |
2021 | 01/01/2021 | 31/12/2021 | 364 days |
Year | Number of observations |
---|---|
2023 | 958 |
2022 | 1092 |
2021 | 248 |
Grand Total | 2298 |
The chart below shows flight data by month for 2023
The chart below shows flight data by month since 1st January 2021
For a list of references, please see our bibliography page.