Macaronesian Red Admiral

Recommended tours to watch this butterfly

Full-day birdwatching
Half-day birdwatching
Note: when booking any of these tours please state your interest in butterflies.

Description

A medium-large brownish-black and red butterfly resembling the European Red Admiral but with more red and less white. Its fore-wing uppersides have a large and irregular red patch extending from the costal vein towards the anal angle and white spots on the distal area. Its underside hind-wings are paler than its european congener with a whitish streak along the submargin.

Vanessa vulcania Caterpillars

Host & Food Plants

It likes Urticaceae plants as Urtica membranacea and Urtica morifolia (Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006).

Habitat & behaviour

It is normally seen in places with people, like gardens and parks though its larvae is more associated with the Laurel Forest. It can be seen all year round but are more frequent in the Spring. (Haahtela et al, 2011)

Distribution in Atlantic Islands of Macaronesia:

Occurs in Madeira, Porto Santo, Selvagem Grande and Canary Islands (Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006)

Status:

Regional status according to Aguiar & Karsholt, 2008: Endemic to Macaronesia
Regional status according to Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006: Endemic to Macaronesia
Regional status according to Wakeham-Dawson et al., 2001: Common resident
Status according to the European Red List of Butterflies, 2010: Least Concern