The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta (L., 1758))

The Red Admiral, family Nymphalidae, remains active all year long provided that the temperature reaches 15 °C and can spend the winter as an imago, egg, caterpillar or chrysalis, but it is mostly butterflies that overwinter in a pile of stones, rock cracks or Ivy.

The Red Admiral, north of the Alps, migrates to the south to overwinter. The name Red Admiral was given by comparing the red band on its wings with the scarf of the uniform of an English admiral. Males are territorial but change territory every two to three days and very quickly the post is occupied by another male.

From January on, as soon as the temperature rises, the female lays a single green egg at a time on the leaves of Nettle or Lichwort, an emblematic plant of old dry stone walls. It frequents preferentially edges and sunny glades.

The caterpillar creates a shelter by folding a leaf using silk threads and comes out only to feed or change shelter after moulting. At instar 3, the caterpillar is lighter in colour although the caterpillars of the Red Admiral are likely to present very different colours. In its last stage, the caterpillar gnaws the petiole, so that the upper part of the Nettle hangs freely, and then assembles the adjoining leaves with silk threads to create a more spacious shelter. At maturity, the caterpillar becomes a nymph on the host plant and then turns into a chrysalis.

The specific epithet atalanta refers to Atalanta, athlete heroine in Greek mythology who wanted to take as a husband only the one who could beat her in running. She was defeated by Hippomenes, who dropped golden apples when Atalanta was likely to overtake him. Curiously she stopped to pick them up. The golden reflections on the chrysalis recall these golden apples. After about 15 to 20 days the butterfly emerges.

The "numbers" 81 or 98 readable under the hind wings have given rise to various names such as the "Butterfly Number", the "Numbered" or the "Ninety-Eight".

For more information visit our website Filming VarWild
http://www.filming-varwild.com/a-atalanta.html
http://www.filming-varwild.com

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