Red Spotted Purple Admiral Butterfly

Until today, I have never seen a butterfly before that is blue on the top side (dorsal side) and brown & orange spotted on the bottom side (ventral side), so I paused on my walk to take a closer look at this neat little guy. At about 3" across, his wingspan is a bit smaller than a monarch butterfly.

So naturally, I stopped to look up the name of this type of butterfly. I would say it is more so orange spotted and blue, but it's official name is the red spotted purple (RSP) admiral butterfly, and it's scientific name is Limentis arthemis astyanax (Fabricus). 

It used to be considered its own species, but recently has been combined with the (mostly Canadian) White Admiral Limenitis arthemis arthemis (Drury) into one species because they can interbreed and hybridize. This video explains why they combined the two species.

So after a bit of research and then falling into a butterfly shaped internet hole, I realized immediately how little I know about butterflies in general, like...

• They have four wings, not two, and can move all four wings independently, and only need the fore-wings (top two) to fly. The hind wings help with maneuverability to evade predators. 
• Caterpillars look different depending on how many times they have molted, each stage is called an "instar."
• Most butterflies have muted colors on the ventral side of their wings, so they blend in to their surroundings while they rest.

Anyways, a few cool facts about this butterfly in particular - the red spotted purple admiral butterfly (the official State Butterfly of New York) is a Batesian mimic of a poisonous species called the pipevine swallowtail Battus philenor (Linnaeus), which protects them by warding off predators.

Here is a photo of the pipevine swallowtail:

Even as caterpillars, these animals are great at mimicry and disguise themselves as bird droppings to avoid predators.

Their eggs are also pretty unusual looking and remind me of bubble wrap.

This butterfly can be found in semi-sunny situations like stream and forest edges, woodland paths, and forest openings. In those habitats, adult RSPs feed on sap, rotting fruit, animal dung, and carrion, but they rarely visit flowers. They are seen from around the start of June through the middle of August. Males are very territorial, and they sit sentinel on vegetation, awaiting the appearance of females. 

You can attract this and other butterflies to your yard by planting native plants and talking to your local garden shop about what is best. Also make sure to include some good sized rocks in your garden for them to sit on in the sun. Learn more about planting a butterfly garden here, and about making your yard welcoming to other forms of wildlife (without breaking the bank) here.

Sources:
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/red-spotted_purple.htm
https://uwm.edu/field-station/red-spotted-purple/
https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2018.00068
http://indroid.squarespace.com/red-spotted-purple/
https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Red-Spotted-Purple-Admiral
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/whats-all-the-flap-about
https://dailygazette.com/2008/01/08/0108_butterfly_update/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karner_blue