Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is a very widespread and familiar butterfly species, ranging across North America, and also found south into Central America, and throughout much of Europe, northern Africa, and temperate Asia. The distinctive pattern of this butterfly, with a dark upperside with white spots on the wingtips, and bright reddish-orange bands through the fore- and hindwings make identification very straightforward. This butterfly is a strong migrant, and may migrate south in huge numbers in fall. Subsequent generations appear to return to breed in the spring (Butterflies of Maryland: A Biological Summary and Checklist by Lynn Davidson & Richard Smith).
This species primarily uses nettles (Urtica spp.) as larval host plants.
There are 1,675 records in the project database.
GA | AL | WA | FR | CL | MO | HO | BA | BC | HA | CE | PG | AA | CV | CH | SM | KE | QA | CN | TA | DO | WI | SO | WO |