
Red Admiral
This butterfly is widespread in southern England, extending just into Wales and northwards. It has white-banded black wings and a distinctive delicate flight, which has short periods of wing beats followed by long glides. It could be confused with the larger Purple Emperor.
Adults are often found nectaring on Bramble flowers in rides and clearings. It is a fairly shade-tolerant butterfly, flying in dappled sunlight to lay eggs on Honeysuckle.
The White Admiral occurs widely in southern Britain and has spread rapidly since the 1920s, after an earlier contraction. However, population monitoring has shown a dramatic decline in the last 20 years, for reasons that are as yet unclear.
The sole foodplant is Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), usually in shady positions.
The butterfly uses shady woodland and ride edges and is often associated with neglected or mature woodland, where there are sunny glades with large patches of Bramble to provide nectar for the adults. It is found in both deciduous and mixed deciduous/coniferous woodland.
White Admiral (upperwing) - Iain Leach
Iain Leach
White Admiral (upperwing) - Pete Withers
Pete Withers
White Admiral (upperwing) - Iain Leach
Iain Leach
White Admiral (upperwing) - Iain H Leach
Iain H Leach
White Admiral (underwing) - Iain Leach
Iain Leach
White Admiral (underwing) - Pete Withers
Pete Withers
White Admiral (underwing) - Bob Eade
Bob Eade
White Admiral (underwing) - Iain Leach
Iain Leach
White Admiral (egg) - Peter Eeles
Peter Eeles
White Admiral (hibernaculum) - Peter Eeles
Peter Eeles
White Admiral (caterpillar) - Peter Eeles
Peter Eeles
White Admiral (pupa) - Peter Eeles
Peter Eeles