A medium sized red and black colour 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.
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 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 benefited massively from climate change, with all stages of its life cycle now having been reported at all time 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 |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | 01/01/2022 | 17/05/2022 | 136 days |
2021 | 01/01/2021 | 31/12/2021 | 364 days |
Year | Number of observations |
---|---|
2022 | 331 |
2021 | 248 |
Grand Total | 579 |
Distribution map for the Red Admiral based on the data submitted online via this website will be available below soon.
The chart below shows Red Admiral flight data by month for 2022 submitted online since 1st January 2022 to 17th May 2022.
The chart below shows Red Admiral flight data by month based on all data submitted online since 1st January 2019 to 17th May 2022.
For a list of references, please see our bibliography page.