| Family | Nymphalidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Nymphalinae |
| Genus | Vanessa |
| Species | atalanta |
| Authority | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| English Name | Red Admiral |
| European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
|---|---|
| EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
| European Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| EU 27 Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| Habitats Directive | |
| Bern Convention | |
| CITES |
The Red Admiral is a wide-ranging, migratory butterfly that in temperate areas can only survive mild winters. Each year, butterflies from southern Europe fly northwards, and in good years Red Admirals can be seen practically everywhere. The butterflies need a lot of nectar, which they get from flowers. They also feed on rotting fruit and at harvest time are often seen in orchards. They are also attracted to the resin oozing from trees. The Red Admiral lays its eggs on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) and Pellitory (Parietaria spp.) in sunny, but not all too dry places. The caterpillars live alone or in small groups in small tent-like shelters made by spinning leaves together. The caterpillars pupate in a little tent of spun leaves.
Albania / Andorra / Austria / Belarus / Belgium / Belgium: Flanders / Belgium: Wallonia / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Cyprus / Czechia / Denmark (Regular Migrant) / Estonia (Regular Migrant) / Finland (Regular Migrant) / France / France: Mainland / France: Corsica / Germany / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Greece: East Aegean Islands / Greece: Kirti (Crete) / Holy See (Vatican City State) / Hungary / Iceland (Regular Migrant) / Ireland / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Italy: Sardinia / Italy: Sicily / Latvia / Liechtenstein / Lithuania / Luxembourg / Monaco / North Macedonia / Malta / Moldova / Montenegro / Netherlands / Norway (Regular Migrant) / Poland / Portugal / Portugal: Mainland / Portugal: Azores / Portugal: Madeira Islands / Romania / European Russia / San Marino / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Spain: Canary Islands / Spain: Balearic Islands / Spain: Sp. North African Territories / Sweden (Regular Migrant) / Switzerland / European Türkiye / Ukraine / United Kingdom / United Kingdom: Great Britain / United Kingdom: Northern Ireland (Regular Migrant) / United Kingdom: Isle of Man (Regular Migrant) / United Kingdom: Guernsey / United Kingdom: Jersey / United Kingdom: Gibraltar /