The Eurasian White Admiral (Limenitis camilla) is a butterly native to Europe and Asia. It is an insect from the Nymphalidae family – the gliders. The Limenitis camilla camilla (photographed) is from the Caucasus and Transcaucasia – Georgia, southern Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The Eurasian White Admiral has black wings with white bands.
Eurasian White Admiral Butterfly
It is a medium-sized butterfly. Its wingspan is about 6 centimetres (2.5 inches) across.
The Eurasian White Admiral sips nectar from flowers. The larva stage – the caterpillar – eats leaves. Its sole food plant is the Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), usually in shady locations.
The Eurasian White Admiral is native to Europe, from southern Britain, to eastern Europe, and into Asia – as far as Japan. It prefers woodlands, but it also likes conifer plantations if the Honeysuckle plant is also found.
It has a distinctive, elegant flight consisting of short periods of wing beats, followed by long glides.
Female butterflies lay eggs on plant leaves, specifically the Honeysuckle plant. The eggs hatch into caterpillars, which are green with red-brown hairs and are camouflaged on a leaf by a mixture of their own droppings and silk.
When the caterpillar pupates, it makes a tent-like structure or casing, called a hibernaculum or a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis (changes), and it emerges as an adult butterfly.
Eurasian White Admiral Butterfly
Eurasian White Admiral Butterfly
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM