Red-Spotted Admiral
August 2010
The Red-Spotted Admiral (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) also called the Red-Spotted Purple is a medium-large sized black butterfly with blue on the dorsal side and bold orange dots, light blue crescents, and an orangey undertone on both wings when viewed from the ventral side. This is one of my personal favorite species!!!!
Male - August 2024
This butterfly might have the most striking dorsal and ventral detail combination of any species in New Jersey!! While the underside has many bold orange spots, the dorsal view displays a brilliant shiny blue on the hindwings fading into midnight blue/black iridescent forewings.
Male - August 2024
These butterflies are fairly common and occur mostly in shaded areas where they will fly along forest corridors occasionally landing on the ground or leaf perches. I’ve noticed that females are noticeably larger than males and can sometimes be confused with Spicebush Swallowtails when you only get fleeting views in flight as they occur in similar habitats.
August 2018
It’s always fun when you find this butterfly at rest - either puddling or guarding territory. The best is when they hang out in a sunny spot and open their wings. The blue mirroring effect as the sun reflects off reminds me of a Blue Morpho!!
August 2020
Red-Spotted Purples as I always call them, can be highly variable. This individual has quite a dark underside with little orangey shimmer to the wings.
September 2019
This was one of my few observations of the species where I got to see the butterfly use flowers for nectar. The individual seemed to be loving this Late Boneset patch and stayed on the blooms for long stretches.
August 2018
The Red-Spotted Admiral pictured here was in such a dark shady spot, it was almost impossible to get a usable photo!! A lot of balancing and low shutter speed images were required to capture the moment.
