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The yellow admiral or Australian admiral (''Vanessa itea'') is a
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.
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. 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.
File:Vanessa_itea_feeding.jpg, Feeding on nectar
File:Australian admiralw.JPG,
In New Zealand the yellow admiral pupae have been parasitised by both the self introduced wasp species ''
Detailed description, and pages of pictures of larva and eggs
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1935955 Butterflies of Australia Butterflies of New Zealand Vanessa (butterfly) Butterflies described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
native to Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
, and Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
s. The Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
name is , which means "yellow cloak". The yellow admiral is a member of the family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...
, the subfamily Nymphalinae
The Nymphalinae are a subfamily of brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae). Sometimes, the subfamilies Limenitidinae, and Biblidinae are included here as subordinate tribe(s), while the tribe Melitaeini is occasionally regarded as a distinc ...
as well as the tribe Nymphalini
Nymphalini is a tribe of nymphalid brush-footed butterflies. Common names include admirals, anglewings, commas, and tortoiseshells, but none of these is specific to one particular genus.
The name anglewing butterflies is an English translation ...
.
Description
It is a medium-sized butterfly, with a variable wingspan of 48 to 50 mm in Tasmania, and 48 to 55 mm in New Zealand. 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.
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.
Distribution and habitat
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
''Urtica incisa'', commonly called scrub nettle, stinging nettle, and tall nettle, is an upright perennial herb native to streams and rainforest of eastern and southern Australia, from the north–east southwards through the east, of Queensland a ...
'' and ''Urtica urens
''Urtica urens'', commonly known as annual nettle, dwarf nettle, small nettle, dog nettle, or burning nettle, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant species in the nettle family Urticaceae. It is native to Eurasia, including the Himalayan regions ...
'' are present. It is found at up to 1000 m above sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
.
It is a strong, fast flier, and is thought to survive wind-blown travel from Australia to New Zealand, across the Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...
.
Life cycle
Eggs
The eggs are light green, ribbed and barrel shaped. They are usually laid singly, sometimes in pairs, onto the nettle leaves that the larva will eat.Larva
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 tenproleg
A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...
s.
They prefer to eat nettles and, depending upon availability, feed on ''Urtica incisa
''Urtica incisa'', commonly called scrub nettle, stinging nettle, and tall nettle, is an upright perennial herb native to streams and rainforest of eastern and southern Australia, from the north–east southwards through the east, of Queensland a ...
'', ''Urtica urens
''Urtica urens'', commonly known as annual nettle, dwarf nettle, small nettle, dog nettle, or burning nettle, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant species in the nettle family Urticaceae. It is native to Eurasia, including the Himalayan regions ...
'', ''Parietaria debilis
''Parietaria debilis'', commonly known as pellitory, small-flower pellitory, or native pellitory, is a herb native to Australia and New Zealand.
Description
It grows as an annual herb from 7 to 40 centimetres in height, with green or white flowe ...
'', ''Pipturus argenteus
''Pipturus argenteus'', known as false stinger, native mulberry, white mulberry, white nettle, amahatyan (Chamorro), and ghasooso ( Carolinian), is a small tree native to Malesia, Papuasia, northern and eastern Australia, Micronesia, Melanesia a ...
'', ''Parietaria australis
''Parietaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae, native to temperate and tropical regions across the world.Flora Europaea''Parietaria''/ref>African Flowering Plants Database''Parietaria'' (enter genus name in search box)/ref ...
'', ''Parietaria cardiostegia
''Parietaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae, native to temperate and tropical regions across the world.Flora Europaea''Parietaria''/ref>African Flowering Plants Database''Parietaria'' (enter genus name in search box)/ref ...
'', ''Parietaria judaica
''Parietaria judaica'', with common names spreading pellitory or pellitory of the wall, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Urticaceae. The plant's pollen is highly allergenic. In Australia it is also known as asthma weed, du ...
'', and ''Soleirolia soleirolii
''Soleirolia soleirolii'' (, syn. ''Helxine soleirolii'') is a plant in the nettle family. It has a number of common names, including baby's tears, angel's tears, peace in the home, bits and pieces, bread and cheese, Corsican creeper, Corsican ...
''. They feed at night; during the day they hide in a curled leaf for protection.
They grow to about 30 mm long before pupating. The pupa is about 20 mm long and is grey or brownish, with sharp bumps and has two white/silver spots on each side.
Adult
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. 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.
Mount Mee, Queensland
Mount Mee is a rural town and locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mount Mee had a population of 484 people.
Geography
Mount Mee (also known as Bonnie Knob) is a mountain, located north of the town of Dayboro, in ...
, Australia
Parasites
In New Zealand the yellow admiral pupae have been parasitised by both the self introduced wasp species ''Echthromorpha intricatoria
''Echthromorpha intricatoria'', also known as the cream-spotted ichneumon, is a common wasp found in Australia and New Zealand. It cannot sting and does not build nests, and is harmless to humans. The female injects eggs into pupae of moths and b ...
'' as well as the introduced wasp ''Pteromalus puparum
''Pteromalus'' is a genus of pteromalids in the family Pteromalidae. There are at least 430 described species in ''Pteromalus''.
See also
* List of Pteromalus species
This is a list of 432 species in ''Pteromalus'', a genus of pteromalids in th ...
''.
See also
*Butterflies of New Zealand
The butterflies of New Zealand include twelve endemism, endemic species, as well as several introduced and migrant species. Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths, is the third largest insect order (biology), order in New Zealand.
...
References
External links
Detailed description, and pages of pictures of larva and eggs
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1935955 Butterflies of Australia Butterflies of New Zealand Vanessa (butterfly) Butterflies described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius