Attributes of Limenitis arthemis

Red-spotted Purple or White Admiral
Limenitis arthemis (Drury, 1773)

Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Limenitidinae
Identification: These two very different forms had once been considered separate species. WHITE ADMIRAL: Upperside is black with broad white median bands on both wings; hindwing has a marginal row of blue dashes and a submarginal row of red dots. Underside is reddish-brown with white median bands as on the upperside. RED-SPOTTED PURPLE: Upperside is blue to blue-green with much iridescence on the outer part of the hindwing. Underside is dark brown. Forewing has 2 red-orange bars near the base of the leading edge; hindwing has 3 red-orange spots near the base and a submarginal row of red-orange spots. The two forms hybridize where their ranges overlap, creating various intermediate forms which may be found in or near the overlap zone.
Wing Span: 2 1/4 - 4 inches (5.7 - 10.1 cm).
Life History: Males perch 3 feet or more above the ground on trees and tall bushes and rarely patrol for females. Eggs are laid singly on tips of host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of many species of trees and shrubs including wild cherry (Prunus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood (Populus), oaks (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), birch (Betula), willows (Salix), basswood (Tilia), and shadbush (Amelanchier).
Adult Food: Sap flows, rotting fruit, carrion, dung, and occasionally nectar from small white flowers including spiraea, privet, and viburnum. White Admirals also sip aphid honeydew.
Habitat: The White Admiral form is usually found in the north in deciduous broad-leaf or mixed evergreen forests dominated by aspen or birch. The Red-Spotted Purple form is usually found further south than the White Admiral, in deciduous or mixed forests, moist uplands, valley bottoms, and coastal plains.
Range: Alaska and subarctic Canada southeast of the Rocky Mountains to central Texas; east to New England and central Florida. Isolated populations in Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas south into Mexico. The White Admiral form usually occurs north of a line through north central New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minnesota. The Red-spotted Purple form is usually found south of this line. Much hybridization occurs where these forms meet. Comments: The Red-spotted Purple is a mimic of the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor).
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Limenitis arthemis

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Limenitis arthemis - Limenitis_arthemis2.jpg

The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.

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By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.

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Observation Date Submitter Region Verified Datesort icon
April 20, 2013 Terry W. Johnson Monroe County, Georgia, United States May 13, 2013 Details
April 15, 2013 jomarlin Marion County, Florida, United States April 24, 2013 Details
April 14, 2013 AnnaLauren Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States April 23, 2013 Details
October 20, 2012 Ken Cheeks Richmond County, Georgia, United States January 30, 2013 Details
June 19, 2005 curtis.lehman Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States December 08, 2012 Details
September 17, 1984 legacy.reporter (O Shields-R Wells) Mohave County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
March 22, 1994 legacy.reporter (S. M. Nelson) La Paz County, Arizona, United States December 01, 2012 Details
March 31, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 07, 2012 legacy.reporter (Kazuo Inagaki) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 08, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 12, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Dallas County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 13, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Shelby County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 13, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Jefferson County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 14, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 15, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 21, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Jefferson County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 28, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Calhoun County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
April 28, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 05, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Lawrence County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 06, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 11, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) DeKalb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 12, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) DeKalb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 05, 2012 legacy.reporter (Kazuo Inagaki) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 19, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 19, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 20, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Jefferson County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 28, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 26, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 27, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
May 28, 2012 legacy.reporter (Paulette Haywood Ogard) Shelby County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 02, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 02, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 02, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Hale County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 03, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 03, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 09, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 15, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 17, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 23, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 24, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
June 24, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 27, 2012 legacy.reporter (Paulette Ogard and Sara Bright) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
July 08, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Perry County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 05, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Colbert County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 11, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Baldwin County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 20, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Baldwin County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 12, 2012 legacy.reporter (Kazuo Inagaki) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 25, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 25, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Cleburne County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details
August 26, 2012 vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny) Bibb County, Alabama, United States December 01, 2012 Details