the White admiral butterfly
Limenitis arthemis
The White Admiral butterfly is one of many species that rarely visit flowers for nutrition. The White Admiral butterfly seldom drinks nectar; instead, it drinks the liquid from carrion, dung, decaying flowers, aphid honeydew and tree sap. In their larval stage, their host plants are trees and shrubs instead of perennial flowers.
White Admiral Caterpillar Host Plant(s)
Many species of trees and shrubs are host plants to the White Admiral caterpillar, including cherries (Prunus spp.), aspens and cottonwoods (Populus spp.), oaks (Quercus spp.), hawthorns (Crataegus spp.), birches (Betula spp.), willows (Salix spp.), basswoods (Tilia americana), and shadbushes or serviceberries (Amelanchier spp).
The White Admiral Butterfly Diet/Nectar Plants
Adults drink tree sap, liquid from carrion, dung, decaying flowers, aphid honeydew, and rarely nectar from flowers.
A butterfly’s proboscis, also known as a haustellum, works like a drinking straw to help butterflies feed on nectar and other liquids. When the butterfly is not drinking, it rolls up its proboscis to protect it.
The White Admiral Butterfly
The adults have two pairs of black wings with white stripes through the middle of both wings. There are blue spots along the edges of both wings, and on the hind wings, there are reddish-brown spots above the blue. The underside wings are lighter in colour. The males and females look the same, except that the females are slightly larger.
Broods/Flight: There are two broods per year, flying from mid-May to late July.
Wingspan: 5 – 8 cm (2 – 3 in)
Range: White Admiral butterflies are found throughout Canada except for southwest British Columbia, the eastern Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. In the US, it is found in central Alaska and ranges from north Montana, and northern North Dakota, through the northern Great Lakes States, northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Habitat: their habitat is in mixed forests, forest edges and openings, lake shores, meadows, roadsides and trails.
The White Admiral Butterfly Egg
The female lays grayish-green, spherical-shaped eggs with vertical ribs and horizontal lines. She lays the eggs singly on the upper tips of leaves. The eggs hatch in 7 – 9 days.
The White Admiral Caterpillar
The Caterpillars are splotchy brown and cream-coloured, resembling bird droppings. They have a pair of hairy horns near their head and bumps along their body.
The caterpillars feed mostly at night and go through five instars as they grow. The last generation of the summer enters diapause when it is in the second or third instar. The caterpillar then prepares a shelter called a hibernaculum by folding a leaf and tying it with its silk, and then using more silk to attach the leaf to a branch. The caterpillar emerges from its shelter in late April and continues to feed on the newly sprouted foliage of their host plant until they are fully grown and ready to form a chrysalis.
The White Admiral Chrysalis
The chrysalis looks like a bird dropping. It is a mottled, creamy white and brown. The pupa stage lasts 10 – 14 days.
Leave the Leaves
Reducing your lawn, growing more native plants and leaving the leaves in your garden are crucial things to do in a wildlife/butterfly garden. There are many different species of insects that shelter, develop and overwinter in leaves and leaf litter. Having leaf litter and plants beneath your trees also provides a soft landing and safe shelter for any chrysalis or caterpillars that become detached from branches or stems. The White Admiral butterfly overwinters as a caterpillar wrapped in a leaf, so there is yet another reason to leave the leaves in your butterfly garden!
Shelter
Butterflies often need shelter areas within their habitat to hide from predators and protect themselves in bad weather. Shrubs, preferably native, and brush-piles are great shelters for butterflies.
Other butterflies in this blog that have trees and shrubs as their host plants:
~ Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
~ Viceroy
~ Mourning Cloak
A Butterfly Garden – is a pollinator/wildlife garden. Never use herbicides or pesticides anywhere near a butterfly garden.
Look but do not touch – please do not buy butterfly kits or chrysalis from commercial breeders, and please do not home-rear butterflies. This is cruel to butterflies, can create unfit populations and spread diseases to the wild species.
Links to find out more about plants native to your area:
https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/native-plant-encyclopedia
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