Volume 10, Plate XX / Entomology (Insects)

Red & White Admirals

Vanessa Atalanta & Limenitis Camilla

1. Red Admiral. Deep glossy black, the fore wings are crossed by a broad red band and tipped with white spots, the hind wings bordered behind with red. Its solitary caterpillar feeds on nettle, drawing leaves about itself with silk; common in England and Scotland, it appears chiefly in late autumn and loves to alight on dahlias and late asters.
2. White Admiral. About the size of the larger small tortoise-shells, it is dull black above, both wings crossed by a broad, irregular white band, the under side brownish-yellow with the white spots faintly pearly. Its caterpillar favours honeysuckle; among our rarer butterflies and now nowhere abundant, it is famed for the grace of its flight, sailing and gliding through woodland glades.