Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Acrobatic Red Admiral
By: Tom Berg
One of the sure signs of springtime is the sight of the red admiral butterfly. Every year around this time our yards and gardens are invaded by colorful and fast-flying butterflies, and one of the most acrobatic is the red admiral.
Red admirals are very common throughout the USA, and they are easy to identify, too. They are a dark brown color (almost black), with bright orange stripes and white spots/bars on their wings. They are extremely fast, energetic flyers. It is often difficult to keep them in sight as they wheel and zigzag around the yard. Just when you think they will zip away and disappear, they suddenly land a few feet away and sit there without moving!
Surprisingly, red admirals often seem downright friendly to people, as they have been known to land on children and adults with some regularity. But they never stay for long, quickly taking off and flying away with their erratic flying pattern. They usually don’t go far, though, since the male butterfly stakes out a territory and defends it vigorously. Sometimes you can even hear two males battling each other in mid-air as they spar and bang their wings together.
As spring moves into summer, adult red admiral butterflies drink nectar from common garden flowers like zinnias, butterfly bush, coneflowers, daisies, milkweed and others. They also love to drink the fluid from overripe or rotting fruit. Their caterpillars prefer to eat the leaves of nettle plants, especially stinging nettle. Most people would not want to share their diet!
After summer ends and the cooler weather of fall begins, red admirals living in the northern USA will actually migrate south just like monarch butterflies do. However, the red admiral does not travel nearly as far as the monarch. Our southern states like Texas, Louisiana and Florida see an influx of Red admirals during the wintertime.
Have you done something interesting outdoors? Join Global Outdoors and write a review to tell everyone about it! We’re building the home for trusted reviews of outdoor experiences, outfitters, and guides. Help us out and you’ll be entered to win free trips!
