yellow admiral

The yellow admiral is a medium-sized butterfly, with a variable wingspan of 48 to 50 mm in Tasmania,{{cite book |last=Daley |first=Elizabeth|title=Wings: An introduction to Tasmania's winged insects|publisher=Riffles Pty |year=2007}} and 48 to 55 mm in New Zealand.{{cite web|url=http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/invertebrates/invertid/bug_details.asp?Bu_Id=273|title=Bug identification – Yellow Admiral|access-date=2009-07-16|quote=also occurs in Australia|author=Leonie Clunie|date=23 August 2001|archive-date=15 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515013909/http://landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/invertebrates/invertid/bug_details.asp?Bu_Id=273|url-status=dead}}Some sites say 60 mm.{{clarify|date=February 2025|reason=What kind of sites? Websites?}} The upperside of the forewings are dark brown to black toward the outer edges, with three small white patches and a wide, bright yellow bar, and dull red nearer the body. The rear wings are dull red with a black border, and a row of black circles with light blue centres near the edge!

File:Yellow Admiral 07.JPG

The underwings are very different – the rear wing is various shades of brown with cryptic, irregular markings; the underside of the forewing has a blue eyespot on a black background that is highlighted by a yellow area above and below.{{cite web |url=http://morwellnp.pangaean.net/cgi-bin/show_species.cgi?find_this=Vanessa%20itea |title=Morwell National Park – Species – Vanessa itea |access-date=2009-07-16 }}

Yellow admirals are relatively common throughout their range wherever their food plants occur. They prefer open country, wastelands and gardens where the stinging nettles Urtica incisa and Urtica urens are present. It is found at up to 1000 m above sea level. Adults are also attracted to butterfly bush (Buddleja sp.) {{Cite book |last=Crowe |first=Andrew |title=Which New Zealand insect? with over 650 life-size photos of New Zealand insects |date=2002 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-100636-9 |location=Auckland, N.Z}}

It is a strong, fast flier, and is thought to survive wind-blown travel from Australia to New Zealand, across the Tasman Sea.

File:Yellow Admiral - Vanessa itea.jpg

The eggs are light green, ribbed and barrel shaped. They are usually laid singly, sometimes in pairs, onto the nettle leaves that the larva eat.{{cite web|title=Vanessa itea |url=http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~don/larvae/nymp/itea.html |date=16 July 2009 |access-date=20 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727042853/http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~don/larvae/nymp/itea.html |archive-date=27 July 2008 }}

The caterpillars vary from black to grey, yellow-green or brown, with lighter coloured lines and spots running laterally along its back. They are covered in several rows of spiny protrusions. They have six true legs, and ten prolegs.

They prefer to eat nettles and, depending upon availability, feed on Urtica incisa, Urtica urens, Parietaria debilis, Pipturus argenteus, Parietaria australis, Parietaria cardiostegia, Parietaria judaica, and Soleirolia soleirolii.{{cite web |title=Vanessa itea data sheet |url=http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~erg/itea_ds.htm |date=23 May 2008 |access-date=20 July 2009|author=R. Grund}} They feed at night; during the day they hide in a curled leaf for protection.

They grow to about 30 mm long before pupating.{{cite web |url= http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/resources/identification/animals/bug-id/what-is-this-bug/bugs-without-legs/caterpillars-most-do-have-legs/yellow-admiral-caterpillar|title=Yellow Admiral Caterpillar |author=Leonie Clunie|date= 25 November 2013 |access-date=16 March 2014 }} The pupa is about 20 mm long and is grey or brownish, with sharp bumps and has two white/silver spots on each side.

File:Yellow admiral (Vanessa itea) cocoon with Pteromalus puparum3.jpg wasps]]

The flight period of the adult covers all the warmer months of the year and so varies with location, e.g. in Tasmania it is from November to May, while in Victoria it is from September to April.{{cite web |title=Morwell National Park – Species – Vanessa itea |url=http://morwellnp.pangaean.net/cgi-bin/show_species.cgi?find_this=Vanessa%20itea |access-date=20 July 2009}} Individuals may live for several months. The adults feed on nectar from available flowers, and sometimes sap seepage from trees. Normally the last of the season's brood survive as larvae until the next season, but in some areas it survives as a dormant adult over winter.

In New Zealand the pupae have been parasitised by the self-introduced wasp species Echthromorpha intricatoria and the introduced wasp Pteromalus puparum.{{Cite web |url=https://www.monarch.org.nz/species/butterflies/yellowadmiral/ |title=Yellow Admiral – Vanessa itea – Kahukowhai |website=Monarch Butterfly New Zealand Trust |access-date=2019-03-05 |url-status=deviated |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111422/https://www.monarch.org.nz/species/butterflies/yellowadmiral/ }}

File:Vanessa_itea_feeding.jpg|Feeding on nectar

File:Australian admiralw.JPG|Mount Mee, Queensland, Australia

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Vanessa itea}}

• [http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~erg/itea_ds.htm Detailed description, and pages of pictures of larva and eggs]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1935955}}

Category:Butterflies of Australia

Category:Butterflies of New Zealand

Category:Vanessa (butterfly)

Category:Butterflies described in 1775