Indian Red Admiral (Vanessa indica)

[Vince Massimo]

This species is on the Secondary List because a single specimen was caught in early September 1973 at Kites Hardwick near Dunchurch in Warwickshire. The nearest locality for this species is north-west India, and so this sighting is considered to be an individual that was accidentally imported or an escapee from captivity.

Until now the only image in the Species Album was of an individual of the sub-species Vanessa vulcania which is found in the Canary Islands and Madeira. Research by Leestman in 1992 has raised this to species level and it is now called the Canarian Red Admiral. No populations are known between the Atlantic islands and India.

I am grateful to Milind Bhakare for allowing two of his splendid images to be used.

Indian Red Admiral - Mizoram, India 11-Oct-2011 (Milind Bhakare)

Indian Red Admiral - Uttarakhand, India 10-May-2012 (Milind Bhakare)

These and many others can be found on the exceptional website of The Indian Foundation for Butterflies http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/ and I highly recommend viewing the Species and Lifecycle pages.

Vince

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Vince - well-spotted ... and very nice shots!

Cheers,

- Pete