''Limenitis arthemis,'' the red-spotted purple or white admiral, is a North American

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

species in the cosmopolitan genus ''

Limenitis ''Limenitis'' is a genus of brush-footed butterflies, commonly called the admirals. The sister butterflies (''Adelpha'') and commander butterflies (''Moduza ''Moduza'' is a genus of south-east Asian (Indomalayan realm) brush-footed butterflie ...

''. It has been studied for its evolution of

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry f ...

, and for the several stable hybrid wing patterns within this

nominal species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

; it is one of the most dramatic examples of hybridization between non-mimetic and mimetic populations. ''Limenitis arthemis'' can be split into two major groups, mainly based on one physical characteristic: the presence of a white band along the wings. Individuals of the northern group, called white admirals, have a conspicuous white band that traverse both the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the wing, while those of the southern group, called red-spotted purples, lack that trait as they have evolved to mimic the poisonous pipevine swallowtail (''

Battus philenor ''Battus philenor'', the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, Retrieved April 19, 2018. is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many dif ...

''). Due to overlap in distribution among the two major groups, intermediates are numerous as

hybridization Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to: *Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid *Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals *Nu ...

occurs frequently.

Taxonomy and phylogenetics

''Limenitis arthemis'' is a butterfly species in the tribe

Limenitidini Limenitidini is a tribe of brush-footed butterflies of the subfamily Limenitidinae. Genera In alphabetical order: – sisters * ''Athyma'' Westwood, 850/small> – sergeants * '' Auzakia'' Moore, 898/small> * '' Cymothoe'' Hübner, 819/small> ...

of the family

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 Limenitidini are a tribe of the better known "brush-footed butterflies", as they are known to perch on hindlegs, whereas the other two forelegs are positioned curled up. These two forelegs often have brush-like hairs, which is a key identifier of the ''Nymphalidae''. The Limenitidini consist of 25 species grouped primarily by region. The ''Basilarchia'' species group, spread in North America, include the American white admiral species, ''L. arthemis,'' as well as ''L. archippus, L. lorquini,'' and ''L. weidemeyerii.''

Description and identification

''Limenitis arthemis'' is described to be beautiful and highly active. The butterfly species themselves can be divided into two major groups simply from one main characteristic, the white band on the upper wings. However, besides the look of the butterfly, ''L. arthemis'' are in constant motion. Their flights are short in duration and at low altitudes, flying only about 2 to 3 feet off the ground. When not in flight, ''L. arthemis'' are constantly walking over leaves and folding their wings. They enjoy the sun as many are found to be resting at the highest points on trees. During the short period they are at rest, ''L. arthemis'' keep their wings closed, body at a 45 degree angle upwards, and antennae straight forward. The two sexes of this species are identical except that the females are slightly larger than the males.Rick Cech and Guy Tudor (2005). ''Butterflies of the East Coast''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. The upperside of ''L. a. arthemis'' is mostly blackish-blue with white postmedian bands across both wings. Some individuals have a row of red submarginal spots, while others have this area being blue. The underside of the wings is a blackish color with a broad white post-median band. The basal area of both wings contains many red spots. The submarginal area may contain a row of red spots and the marginal area having bluish spots. However, sometimes the submarginal and marginal areas are just a reddish-brown color.Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). ''Butterflies of North America''. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY. David C. Iftner, John A. Shuey, and John V. Calhoun (1992). ''Butterflies and Skippers of Ohio''. College of Biological Sciences and The Ohio State University. The upperside of ''L. a. astyanax'' is very much like ''L. a. arthemis'' except it lacks the broad white bands. The forewing submarginal area will sometimes have a row of red spots. The hindwings are either a bright iridescent blue or an iridescent bluish-green. The underside of the wings lacks the white band. The basal area has several red spots. It has a row of red submarginal spots and bluish marginal spots.

Distribution and habitat

''Limenitis arthemis'' are vastly spread out throughout North America. ''L a. arthemis'' or the white admiral live on the far north side of the continent, ranging from New England and southern Great Lakes area all the way to various parts of Canada. ''L. a. astyanax'' are based further south from the New England and southern Great Lake boundary, and can be found as far south as Florida; the hybridization region is the overlapped region of New England and southern Great Lakes. These butterflies spend their days in

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

woodlands, along the edges of the forest in shady areas, including roadsides.

Home range and territoriality

Male territoriality display

When males are searching for mates, they generally try to defend areas that have high female visitation rates, regardless of the amount of resources. Male ''L. arthemis'' are known to be very aggressive when it comes down to defending an area bountiful of female mates. Male residents perch under the sun until another male comes into the vicinity; these engagements generally last approximately 1–5 minutes. Once conflicts comes to an end, males periodically patrol their territory for other outsiders tempted to take over the territory. Males also have high fidelity to the territory they are defending.

Food resources

Caterpillars

Caterpillars of the hybrid region generally feed on tree species in the plant family Salicacceae, including aspen, poplar, and willow trees. Those of the northern region generally feed extensively on yellow birch trees, including ''Betula aleghaniensis'' and ''

Betula lenta ''Betula lenta'' (sweet birch, also known as black birch, cherry birch, mahogany birch, or spice birch) is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southernmost Ontario, and south in the Appalachian Mounta ...

''. Southern caterpillars feed on black cherry ('' Prunus serotina'') and other members of the

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorb ...

family.

Adults

The adult diet generally includes rotting fruit and nectar from small white flowers.

Parental care

Oviposition

Females lay eggs on leaves of food plants (see Food Resources for details), specifically at the very tips of these leaves, to the point where the width of the egg and that of the leaf are the same. These plants are about two to three feet off the ground. Mother undergoes labor for several weeks, laying only a few eggs per day; this is implied as more and more worn-out females are found.

Life history

Life cycle

''Limenitis arthemis'' have two broods lasting from April to October. Most of the first brood feed and grow until the caterpillar is half-grown. Then they form a hibernaculum and hibernate for the winter until the start of spring. However, some larvae are able to mature during the summer, so they emerge as the second brood early fall. The second brood also mate and lay eggs, but often these larvae are not yet mature enough to undergo hibernation. Ultimately, this could mean death for the larvae. Limenitis arthemis caterpillar

Egg

Lasting about 7 days, the eggs have a grey-green color with kite-shaped cells surrounding a central circular structure.

Caterpillar

Lasting a couple of weeks after hatching, ''L. arthemis'' larvae have wood brown heads with dark brown and yellow bordered bodies. Mature larvae are deep brownish-olive color with faint white midsections on their dorsal sides. The legs and prolegs are red-brown. Third stage larvae undergo hibernation at start of winter.

Pupa

Pupa stage last approximately 10–14 days.

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

vary color from a creamy white to silvery gray.

Adult

Adult butterflies, if part of first brood, are usually flying by mid-June. Adults are diurnal, meaning they fly from the morning until soon after dusk. Life as an adult lasts approximately 6-14 days.

Sensory biology

Vision

Vision is a dynamic and integral part of an organism. For the ''L.arthemis'' it is crucial in order to find food, avoid predators, and engage in social signaling i.e. mating behaviors. Butterfly vision is diverse and unique amongst individual species. This is due to their remarkable range of photoreceptor classes, each with distinct spectral sensitivities. This diversity results not only from the different spectral properties, but also from the alternations in the number and spatial distribution of visual pigments. Vision is a collaborative process between the components of the visual pigment: the opsin protein and the

chromophore A chromophore is the part of a molecule responsible for its color. The color that is seen by our eyes is the one not absorbed by the reflecting object within a certain wavelength spectrum of visible light. The chromophore is a region in the mo ...

. The

opsin Animal opsins are G-protein-coupled receptors and a group of proteins made light-sensitive via a chromophore, typically retinal. When bound to retinal, opsins become Retinylidene proteins, but are usually still called opsins regardless. Most ...

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

encodes opsin proteins, which binds to the

to form a visual pigment. These visual pigments are modulated by specific

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha ...

s which determines the absorbance spectra that allows for animals to detect particular wavelengths of light. In ''L. arthemis'', it has been shown in a study that the diversification of

s have altered on a longitudinal cline along with natural selection due to environmental factors, unrelated to spectral tuning.

Protective coloration

Batesian mimicry Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on ...

This type of

between species of the ''Limenitis arthemis'' is a prime example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

, in which similar traits are developed among species in common niches or environment. Butterfly wing pattern is a trait often subjected to

among species of different lineages because despite its diversity, the patterns are developed based upon a strict blueprint laid by preceding ground plans that were conserved throughout

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. Though the exact mechanism by which the wing patterning developed remains unclear, there is evidence of genes associated with the eyespot patterning development. Yet, two conflicting ideas have been proposed to explain the mechanism involved: conserved homology or recent variability. The red-spotted purple butterfly, also known as the subspecies ''L. arthemis astyanax,'' is a well known Batesian mimic. The palatable red-spotted purple mimics the unpalatable pipevine swallowtail (''

'') with its overall dark wings with bright iridescent blue along the hind wings. The two subspecies differ in the presence of a bright white band on both upper wings in the ''L. arthemis arthemis'' (non-mimic form). Battus philenor - dorsal

A study hypothesized that the higher density of either model or mimic would cause a decrease in the effect of the

in evading predators; however, this was not the case, since they showed that even with the lowest density of the model, the effectiveness of evading predators by the mimics did not decline. Therefore, another study indicates that this phenomenon may be regulated by positionally orthologous nucleotide variants in the genome of these butterflies. Specifically, the gene '' WntA'' was found to be responsible for mimicry between ''L. arthemis'' and the pipevine swallowtail (''Battus philenor''), species that diverged more than 65 million years ago. Another study ruled out a major hypothesis stating that the reappearance of the non-mimic form was due to the evolutionary loss of mimicry and a reversion to the ancestral phenotype. It showed that this hypothesis is most likely incorrect. These reasons included such significant levels of both contemporary and historical gene flow between the two phenotypic species that individual gene trees would not be accurate. In addition, past work on this hypothesis utilized mitochondrial DNA, which is an unreliable guide to phenotype. Unlike previous studies which suggested that

melanin Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino ...

pathway genes were responsible for variation in patterning and

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

expression, the '' WntA'' pathway is a crucial part of the early development of embryos and therefore highly conserved between species; thus making it the most likely candidate responsible for the evolution of

in ''L. arthemis''.

Genetics

Subspecies

* ''Limenitis arthemis arthemis'', the American white admiral, has the common appearance described in the description section of the white admiral. * ''Limenitis arthemis rubrofasciata'', the western American white admiral, has a brick-red band along the margins of the ventral hindwing, and are mainly found west of Lake Superior. * ''Limenitis arthemis astyanax'', the red-spotted purple or red-spotted admiral, has red spots on the underside of the wings, while the upperside has no white bands, but irridescent blue on the hindwings * ''Limenitis arthemis arizonensis'', the Arizona red-spotted purple, has wings that appear similar to the ''L. a. astyanax'', but pointier hindwings. This subspecies resides in the southwestern regions of the US.

Hybridization

''Limenitis arthemis'' is one of the most dramatic examples of hybridization within a nominal species. The two major subspecies that dominate the hybridization are ''L. a. arthemis'' (white admiral) and ''L. a. astyanax'' (red-spotted purple). The white admiral is characterized by a bright, white band on its wings, while the red-spotted purple lacks the white band, but has cooler blue-green shades on its wings. Hybridization occurs between a narrow area across New England, southern Ontario, and the Great Lakes, also known as the "suture region". It is at these regions that the subspecies were formed. According to one study, these hybrid zones were of secondary origin, meaning that both the white admiral and the red-spotted purple are already genetically distinct and the two diverged lineages reconnect at this hybrid area. They were able to support their claim by examining various of mitochondria DNA of the population to determine the similarities and differences of the origins of the hybrid zones and the evolution of mimicry. Another study suggests that hybridization is highly frequent in this species because similar species mate together regardless of being the same butterfly or not. For instance, the ''L. arthemis'' was found to be mating with a ''L. archippus'' butterfly in New England.

Mating

Mate searching behavior

L Arthemis Mississauga Ontario Canada - Top view

When males are searching for female mates, they tend to seek territories with plentiful visits from females. Mate-locating behaviors for males tended to start in the afternoon, between 11 am and 4 pm. Most males perched as a sign of defense of the territory. Males tend not to favor perching on host trees, but rather on various kinds of foliage like maple, elm trees, or raspberry bushes, generally about 1–2 meters off the ground. This particular mating behavior seems ironic because males should want to perch on host trees as females tend to seek mates in areas where resources like food or host trees are bountiful. Therefore, many times, males are defending areas that do not attract the most females.

Male-male behavior

Males tend to display aggressive behavior with each other during territorial fights. Fights have been classified into two types: 1) jostling, which are contests over eclosed or eclosing females and 2) aerial maneuvers, which are fought over ownership of

mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reprod ...

territories in a specific breeding ground. These fights are significant due to the ability of female butterflies to "double-mate" which introduce the idea of sperm precedence and

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...

to reproduce between males. A study showed that within female butterflies that "double-mate" a small percent of the progeny resulted from the mixing of sperm, which illustrate the individual fitness of the male. Therefore, there is an incentive for males to claim their mate prior to other males, which can also affect male mate-seeking strategies as well. Generally, the fights engaged by ''L. arthemis'' are aerial maneuvers which are initiated once a nonresident male files into his peripheral vision. After which a series of flight patterns such as circling flights, vertical and/or horizontal chases, and hovering flights ensue. It is established that the "

" component of the fight is the circling flight, often followed by the horizontal chase in which the 'loser' is chased from the disputed territory. Territorial fights are not limited to

, but it is a method to optimize their mate-seeking behavior.

Female-male behavior

Once a female lands on a leaf, the male lands behind her quite shortly after. If the female does not want to copulate, she closes her dorsal wings.

Ecology

Preferred host plants:

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...

es, including ''

'';

Salicaceae The Salicaceae is the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwoods. Genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly ...

, including ''

Salix bebbiana ''Salix bebbiana'' is a species of willow indigenous to Canada and the northern United States, from Alaska and Yukon south to California and Arizona and northeast to Newfoundland and New England. Common names include beaked willow, long-beaked ...

'' and ''

Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

'', and ''

Prunus virginiana ''Prunus virginiana'', commonly called bitter-berry, chokecherry, Virginia bird cherry, and western chokecherry (also black chokecherry for ''P. virginiana'' var. ''demissa''), is a species of bird cherry (''Prunus'' subgenus ''Padus'') nat ...

'' (

). Also but not as often: ''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

'', ''

Amelanchier ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...

'', ''

Malus pumila An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ...

'', ''

Prunus pensylvanica ''Prunus pensylvanica'', also known as bird cherry, fire cherry, pin cherry, and red cherry, is a North American cherry species in the genus ''Prunus''. Description ''Prunus pensylvanica'' grows as a shrub or small tree, usually with a straigh ...

'' and '' Prunus serotina'' (Rosaceae), ''

Populus deltoides ''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernmo ...

'', '' P. grandidentata'' and '' P. balsamifera'' (Salicaceae), '' Alnus rugosa'', ''

Betula alleghaniensis ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the p ...

'' and ''

Carpinus caroliniana ''Carpinus caroliniana'', the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood tree in the genus ''Carpinus''. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, musclewood and muscle beech. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and ...

'' (Betulaceae), ''

Ulmus americana ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Flor ...

'' (Ulmaceae), ''

Tilia americana ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

'' (Malvaceae) and ''

Fagus grandifolia ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...

'' (Fagaceae). Limenitis arthemis caterpillar feeding on a willow tree

Etymology

''Limenitis'' (

New Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy ...

"of harbours", from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

Λιμενιτις (from λιμήν, a harbour, haven) – an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with ...

, goddess of the hunt and the wild) – ''arthemis'', from Artemis.The

Century Dictionary ''The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia'' is one of the largest encyclopedic dictionaries of the English language. In its day it was compared favorably with the ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' and frequently consulted for more factual informati ...

by The Century Company. Available online a
dictionary.com/index.html

In popular culture

The white admiral is the official state butterfly of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. ''Limenitis arthemis arthemis'' is also considered by some to be the unofficial insect emblem of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

Image gallery

File:Limenitis arthemis caterpillar.jpg, Caterpillar File:Limenitis arthemis astyanax side view.jpg, Side view of ''Limenitis arthemis astyanax'', Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, United States File:Limenitis arthemis astyanax in Hot Springs National Park.jpg, Back view of ''Limenitis arthemis astyanax'', Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, United States File:White Admiral in Southern Maine.jpg, White admiral in southern

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

File:Patapsco fg08.jpg, Red-spotted purple (''Limenitis arthemis astyanax''),

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, Maryland, United States File:Limenitis arthemis arthemis.jpg, ''Limenitis arthemis arthemis'', New Brunswick, Canada File:Saskatoon-butterfly.jpg, ''Limenitis arthemis rubrofasciata'' in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, Saskatchewan, Canada File:Red-spotted purple.jpg, Red-spotted purple (''Limenitis arthemis astyanax''), Pennsylvania, United States File:White Admiral, dorsal.jpg, ''Limenitis arthemis arthemis'', dorsal, Ottawa, Ontario File:White Admiral, ventral.jpg, ''Limenitis arthemis arthemis'', ventral, Ottawa, Ontario File:Limenitis arthemis, Québec (Matthieu Gauvain).JPG, ''Limenitis arthemis arthemis'', Quebec File:Red_Spotted_Purple_Butterfly.jpg, Red-spotted purple, Massachusetts, United States

References

Literature

* * * (1999): ''Papillons du Québec''. Broquet. * Lederhouse, R.C., 1992. Territoriality along flyways as mate-locating behavior in male limenitis arthemis. ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society.'', 47(1), pp. 22–31. * * * * * Savela, Markku (2008): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms - Limenitidinae. Version of 31 August 2008. *

External links

Red-Spotted Purple: Reference large format diagnostic photographs from Cirrus Digital Imaging

Life cycle with photographs
of the red-spotted purple (''Limenitis arthemis astyanax'').
Pictures of the different subspecies
from
Discover Life

at ''Animal Diversity Web''

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
White Admiral, Red-spotted Purple
Butterflies of Canada {{Taxonbar, from=Q2661300 arthemis Butterflies of North America Fauna of the Eastern United States Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies described in 1773 Taxa named by Dru Drury Symbols of New York (state)