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Red admiral (Vanessa
atalanta) on snake root
©
Beatriz Moisset
|
Name a lovely butterfly found throughout North
America and also an intrepid traveler, capable of crossing the
entire continent from north to south. You probably had the answer before I
completed my question. The monarch is the best known butterfly in the United States.
Its migration from Mexico to
Canada
and back, involving several generations and taking months each year, fascinates
us all.
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Painted lady (Vanessa
cardui) on mountain mint
©
2013 Beatriz Moisset
|
Now, name another lovely butterfly just as widely
distributed and also a remarkable migrant. Can you name just one? What about
two? Now, what if these two butterflies could be seen in Africa, Europe and
Asia in addition to North America? In those
continents they would travel from Africa to Europe or from South
Asia to farther north. The two species I refer to bear unusually
pretty scientific names,
Vanessa atalanta
and
Vanessa cardui. We know the first
one as red admiral and the latter as painted lady.
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Red admiral caterpillar feeding on nettle
©
Beatriz Moisset
|
As we know, the monarch caterpillar feeds only on milkweeds.
The
Vanessa caterpillars also have
some favorite food plants; however they can dine on members of several other
plant families as well. The red admiral prefers nettles and the painted lady
goes for thistles. In fact the scientific name
cardui comes from
cardus, which
means thistle in Latin. I hope you have an assortment of native nettles and
thistles in your garden for the benefit of these delightful visitors and their
families. If you don’t, they can resort to other members of the aster, pea or
mallow families.
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Red admiral caterpillar
safe and sound inside a nettle leaf
© Beatriz Moisset |
These two species of butterflies are just as beautiful and
adventurous as the monarch, so their lack of popularity surprises me. Perhaps
all they need is a little publicity. They are brightly colored in black, orange
and white, and slightly smaller than monarchs. If there was a beauty contest I
would probably vote for the gorgeous red admiral. I would also insist in
calling it by its sweet scientific name,
Vanessa
atalanta.
I already mentioned that you can see them, at least part of
the year in your area, wherever you live. You may have already noticed them in
your wildlife garden. Perhaps you even thought you were seeing a monarch, a
common mistake. I have watched them nectaring on asters, coneflowers,
snakeroots and mountain mints among others.
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| Red admiral on cone flower. © Beatriz
Moisset |
We happen to know a lot more about the comings and goings of
monarchs than of painted ladies and red admirals. Maybe this will change in the
future because research continues. In fact, you can contribute your
observations if you are interested in being a citizen scientist by
participating in the Iowa
State University
program at the "
Red Admiral and Painted Lady Research Site". In Europe the
"Insect Migration & Ecology Lab" is also following the red admiral migration in that area.
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American lady (Vanessa virginiensis)
. © Beatriz Moisset |
We know that they fly north in the spring and south in the
fall. How far they go or whether some hunker down and spend the winter in
colder areas is not known. Years ago it was thought that the ones that migrated
to northern latitudes never made it back, just died without descendants; but
that may not be the case. The migration of the painted lady in Europe is better studied. There, it is capable to fly in
the fall all the way from England
to North Africa, a deed as impressive as that
of the monarch.
I hope you are as intrigued as I am about these globe
trotting butterflies. This may inspire you to join the efforts to unravel the
mystery of their migration and also provide habitat for them. Next year, enjoy
your Vanessa butterflies that come to call.
 |
Monarch butterfly (Danaus
plexippus) for comparison
©
Beatriz Moisset |
References
