Admirals Butterfly

Facts about Admirals Butterfly, the Admirals Butterfly are Vanessa type of multicolored butterflies that belong to the Nymphalidae family. These Admirals Butterfly are largely found in temperate Asia, Europe and North America. The Admirals Butterfly variety prefers to live in warmer regions, but it will migrate to north during the spring season, and occasionally another time during the autumn season. The Admirals Butterfly can be seen virtually anywhere, from the seaside and town backyards, to the tops of the peak mountains.

Features

Admirals Butterfly are average-sized butterflies, with a wingspan that ranges from 1 13/16 inches (4.5 cm)to 2 inches (5 cm). The Admirals Butterfly are known for their outstanding red, dark brown and black color wing pattern. More particularly, the dark wings of Admirals Butterfly have orange color bands that cross the front wings and on the external edge of the back wings. The Admirals Butterfly have white color spots on their dorsal front wings close to the front border and red color bars on the dorsal surface of all of their four wings. The caterpillar of the Admirals Butterfly eats nettles, and the mature Admirals drink from flowering plants, such as the Buddleia and over ripened fruit. When resting on a tree trunk or on the ground, the undersides of the Admirals Butterfly offer excellent camouflage, making them virtually imperceptible as they merge into the background.

In northern Europe, Admirals Butterfly are one among the last butterflies to be found earlier than the winter season sets in, habitually feeding on the ivy flowers on sunlit days. The Admirals Butterfly are also recognized to hibernate, re-emerging individuals demonstrating outstandingly darker colorings than initial brood subjects. This type Butterfly as well, flies on sunlit winter days, particularly in the southern parts of Europe.

Diet

Admirals Butterfly feed on an extensive variety of nectar sources, including Ivy blossom, Buddleia and Bramble. They also feed on rotting fruits, like plums that have dropped from the tree.

Breeding

Generally, Admirals Butterfly will have two broods from March and continues until October. Most of the Admirals Butterfly recolonize every spring by the butterflies migrating from the south, but this variety over-winters in the southern parts of Texas.

It is extremely easy to locate an egg-laying female Admirals Butterfly. The influential flight of the female Admirals Butterfly is replaced by a sluggish and purposeful flight as she flits between the leaves of the food plant, laying an egg if the leaf of the plant is found suitable. Egg-laying is usually interspersed with stages of nectaring and inactive.

The larva of Admirals Butterfly has numerous color forms, varying from black, to greenish-tan to an extremely light yellowish-green. This period continues between three and four weeks, according to the temperature. The larva of Admirals Butterfly lives in a tent, shaped by folding the borders of a leaf together, coming out only to nourish. As the larva cultivates, it will shape a new tent. The larva of this variety of butterfly is among the easiest to locate in a nettle patch, as its place is stolen by a sequence of tents that are highly-noticeable. Usually, maximum numbers of larvae of the Admirals Butterfly can be found in these tents. Admirals Butterfly are insects. A Admirals Butterfly is a herbivore; Meaning that as a caterpillar its first food is its own eggshell and than it will eat the leaves of the plant on which it is hatched. When it becomes a Admirals Butterfly, it will feed mostly on nectar from flowers, rotting fruit and water with a "proboscis" - a long narrow tube in their mouth that looks like a straw.

Life cycle of a Admirals Butterfly comes in four stages, egg, larva "caterpillars", pupa "chrysalis" and adult Butterfly.
A Admirals Butterfly will attach its eggs to leaves with a special glue.

When Admirals caterpillars become fully grown they will attach to an appropriate leaf or small branch, than they will shed the outside layer of their skin and a hard skin underneath known as a "chrysalis" will be their new look
An adult Admirals Butterfly will come out from the "chrysalis" than it waits a few hours for its wings to dry and fill with blood, before it takes its first flight.

Admirals Butterfly can see yellow, green, and red. An adult Admirals Butterfly average life span is from a week to a year
The top flight speed of a Admirals Butterfly is 12 miles per hour (19 Km/ph) and some moths can fly up to 25 miles per hour (40 Km/ph).
A Admirals Butterfly is cold-blooded, which means the body temperature is not regulated on its own. A Admirals Butterfly can't fly or eat if their body temperature is below 82 degrees fah (28 cel). Admirals Butterfly are often basking in the sun with their wings open to gain heat and than the veins in the wings carry the heat to the body.
A Admirals Butterfly has sense organ, on their feet or tarsi, for tasting
The estimate is between 15000 and 20000 different species of butterfly.

A Admirals Butterfly has a small body, made up of three parts – the head, abdomen and thorax. A Admirals Butterfly has two large eyes, which are made up of many small parts which are called "compound eyes".
A Admirals Butterfly has two antenna's on the top of their heads, which they use to smell, hear and feel. A Admirals Butterfly mouth is a long tube a "proboscis" - a long narrow tube in their mouth that looks like a straw when its done eating, it rolls the tube back up.

A Admirals Butterfly has three pairs of legs and their feet have little claws that help them stand on flowers. The Admirals Butterfly wings are made up of hard tubes that are covered with a thin tissue. The Admirals Butterfly wings are covered with fine dusty like scales. A Admirals Butterfly has four brightly colored wings having distinctive patterns made up of tiny scales. The bright patterns scales sometimes have hidden ultraviolet patterns for attracting mates. The bright colors are also used as camouflage to hide them or scare off predictors.