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| The Red Admiral is one of our most distinctive and easily recognised butterflies. Male and female are alike, though the white patches vary somewhat, and the eponymous red colour can range from a bright scarlet through to orange. The unexpected blue-speckled patches on the rear edge of the wings are particularly striking when seen close-up |
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| They are frequently seen basking in the sun, particularly in late autumn. Although basically a migratory species (from southern Europe), some can over-winter and so they are often the last butterfly to be seen, late in the year |
The colouration of the fore-wing is reflected on the underside but the hindwing is almost uniformly dark, with a delicate blue stippling. The wing flash so distinctive of a Red Admiral can thus often be seen peeping out, as here. In the close-up view on the right a number of circular structures can be seen on the rearward part of the hindwing, which become "peacock eyes" in the closely related Painted Lady |
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The Red Admiral caterpillar can take two differently-coloured forms - black with yellow patches and dark-red spots above, as in this example, or greyish-yellow with a yellow stripe. This one very effectively sliced off the top of nettle stem upon which it was sitting literally as I was watching! |
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