White admiral
The white admiral is a woodland butterfly with dark wings and bright white bands. It flies in a very elegant way: a few flaps, then a long, smooth glide. The black and white pattern breaks up its shape, so hungry birds find it hard to spot.
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Fun facts
The caterpillar hides by covering itself with its own droppings and silk. Not very nice, but it works.
Before winter, the caterpillar folds a leaf into a little tent, ties it on with silk and sleeps inside.
In spring the caterpillar wakes up, eats a little and grows a spiny green skin.
Its chrysalis is green and gold, and after about two weeks the butterfly comes out.
The mum lays her eggs one by one on honeysuckle in thick woods.
Most asked questions about White admiral
?Where can I see a white admiral?
In shady woods in Europe and Asia, often near bramble flowers in summer.
?How big is a white admiral?
Its wings are about 6 centimetres from tip to tip.
?What does a white admiral caterpillar eat?
It eats honeysuckle leaves.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Limenitis camilla
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1764
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nymphalidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
- Also known as
- Eurasian white admiral
Where the facts come from
- Limenitis camilla (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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