Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758)

Taxonomy, synonyms and combinations

• Pyrameis atalanta. [85].

Distribution

• Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Corsica, Crete, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Turkey - European part, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Yugoslavia. [1].
• Austria, Azores, Albania, Andorra, Balearic Islands, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the British Isles, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece (mainland), Denmark (mainland), Dodecanese Islands, Iceland, Ireland, Spain (mainland), Italy (mainland), the Canary Islands,Cyprus, Corsica, Crete, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway (mainland), the Channel Islands, Poland, Portugal (mainland), Romania, Russia, Sardinia, Northern Ireland, North Aegean island, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey (European part), Ukraine, Finland,France (mainland), Croatia, Cycladic, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia, Yugoslavia. [10].
• Regions of the Russian Federation: the Volga-Don, East Caucasus, Gorno-Altaisk, the European North-East, the European North-West, the European Central Black Earth, the European Central European South taiga, the Western Caucasus, Kaliningrad, Karelia, Kola, Lower Volga, Prealtay, North Urals, the Volga-Fair,Average Urals, Sredneobskaya, South West Siberian, South Ural. [3].
• It is found throughout Europe up to 62° N, and some individuals can fly to the Arctic Circle in warm years. It is also found in North Africa, Asia Minor, Iran, and North America. Introduced to Haiti and New Zealand. Since 1995, it has been wintering in Britain, where previously only migrant admirals were found. On the territory of Russia, it is found not only in the European part, but also in Siberia. In the mountains at an altitude of up to 2000 m [85].

Imago Habitus and Differences from alike species

• The length of the front wing is up to 3 cm. A bright red stripe on a dark background and distinctive white spots in the corners of the front wings make this butterfly not only one of the most beautiful in Europe, but also one of the most recognizable. It doesn't form geographical forms because of migrations. [85].

General info about Imago

• Habitats: fruit orchards with fallen fruit (admirals are especially partial to plums and pears), meadows, banks of reservoirs, and forest clearings. Autumn migrations of admirals are not as noticeable as summer ones — butterflies can linger for a long time in places rich in food during their flight. [85].

Imago lifespan

• Vanessa atalanta appears in May (in high — altitude and northern areas-in June) and gives one or two generations, which may overlap. The first generation flies from July to August, the second-in September and even October (Reichholf-Rim, 2002; Mouha, 1979). It flies further south in May-June and July-October (Nidon et al., 1991). [85].

General info about Larva

• On the sides of each caterpillar there is a yellow stripe and yellow spines. At the same time, the caterpillar itself is "meat-red, yellow-green, brown-red or black" in color.V. atalanta larvae live singly (rather than in groups like Inachis io or Aglais urticae), usually in the folded leaves of nettles, where they pupate. [85].

Larva food plants / other food objects

• Urtica, Parietaria. [28].
• Крапива, двудомная и жгучая, реже чертополох. При этом гусеницы второго поколения встречаются только на крапиве жгучей. [85].

Larva lifespan

• The first generation of admiral tracks is active from May and June to July, the second - from August to September and October. [85].

Pupa

• The partridge is gray or brown in color, with silvery spots. [85].

Overwintering stage

• An adult butterfly overwinters. Sometimes wintering takes place in Central Europe, but most of the European butterflies are migrants from the south. According to Lampert, the pupa can also hibernate. [85].

07.02.2014 15:42, Sergei Kotov Corrected data.

Over-wintering stage: No formalized data → Imago.

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Репейница

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Vanessa indica Herbst, 1794

Vanessa itea (Fabricius, 1775)

Vanessa karaganica Nekrutenko, 1969

Vanessa kershawi (McCoy, 1868)

Vanessa myrinna (Doubleday, 1849)

Vanessa samani (Hagen, 1895)

Vanessa tameamea (Eschscholtz, 1821)

Vanessa terpsichore Philippi, 1859

Vanessa virginiensis (Drury, 1773)

Vanessa vulcania (Godart, 1819)