Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

The red admiral is a familiar butterfly, and is easy to identify thanks to its striking patterning; the black forewings feature prominent red bars and white spots. The undersides of the hindwings are delicately patterned with brown and black (1), which provides excellent camouflage when this butterfly is roosting on tree trunks (2). The caterpillar grows to 3.5 cm in length, and occurs in a number of forms of varying colour. Dark forms are greyish-black, and have black spines and yellow patches along each side. Various pale forms also occur; they are either green or yellowish with pale spines and black markings (3).

Rights Holder: Wildscreen