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Wingspan Male: 56 - 64mm Female: 58 - 66mm

White Admiral Limenitis camilla li-men-EYE-tiss ka-MI-luh Linnaeus, 1764 Ref: 1584

Superfamily: Papilionoidea Family: Nymphalidae Subfamily: Limenitinae Genus: Limenitis Subgenus:   Species: camilla

Introduction Distribution Annual Cycle Habitat Larval Foodplants Nectar Sources

Imago Ovum Larva Pupa Similar Species Videos

Sites Conservation Status Links References

Male

Male Underside

Female

Female Underside

	Introduction

The White Admiral is a woodland species and a delight to behold as it literally glides along forest rides, flying from tree to forest floor and back up with only a few effortless wing beats. For this reason, some of its closest relatives on the continent are known as "gliders". When settled, the adults are unmistakable, with their black uppersides intersected by prominent white bars. The undersides of this butterfly are, however, in complete contrast to the black-and-white uppersides, and are surely one of the most beautiful of all species found in the British Isles.

	Distribution

The butterfly is found in central and southern England, and the eastern counties of Wales. It is not found in Scotland or Ireland. The distribution of this species in the early 1900s had declined to the point that it was restricted to southern England. However, there seems to have been a reversal of fortunes, with the butterfly reaching its formal distribution that extends as far north as Lincolnshire. One explanation is that global warming has allowed the species to thrive at sites that had become too cool. Another is that the cessation of coppicing, that has been detrimental to so many woodland butterflies, has benefited this species which requires Honeysuckle growing in shady woodland for the successful development of its larvae.

	Annual Cycle

Adults emerge in the second half of June and peak in the first part of July. There is usually one brood each year but, in some years, there may be a partial second brood in late summer.

	Habitat

This is a woodland butterfly and is found in deciduous woods throughout its distribution. However, it can also be found in conifer plantations, so long as Honeysuckle is available in suitable locations.

	Larval Foodplants

The primary larval foodplant is Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum).

	Nectar Sources

Adults feed primarily on Honeydew / Sap. Betony (Stachys officinalis), Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.), Hogweed / Angelica (Umbelliferae), Privet (Ligustrum vulgare) and Thistles (Cirsium spp. and Carduus spp.) are also used.

	Imago

Males and females are similar in appearance, although females are slightly browner and larger, and have more-rounded wings. The adults feed from honeydew and are particularly partial to Bramble blossom. It is not uncommon, on good sites, to see several White Admiral all feeding from the same Bramble patch. A downside of this, however, is that their wings can get tatty very quickly, as they move around Bramble blossom, probing for nectar. The adults will also feed on salts and minerals from moist earth and animal droppings.

The behaviour of the female when egg-laying is in complete contrast to the normal soaring flights, making her easy to spot. The female flits low in undergrowth or through shaded woodland, stopping every now and again on the foodplant to lay a single egg. The female selects Honeysuckle that is in partial shade, often at the edge of a woodland ride or in lightly-shaded woodland. She also selects leaves on straggly pieces of isolated plant, rather than the lushest leaves that are often growing in full sun.

Photo © Vince Massimo 24-Jun-2009	Photo © Pete Eeles 25-Jun-2004	Photo © Pete Eeles 25-Jun-2004	Photo © Pete Eeles 29-Jun-2008
Photo © Pete Eeles 03-Jun-2007	Photo © Pete Eeles 03-Jun-2007	Photo © Pete Eeles 15-Jun-2006	Photo © Pete Eeles 19-Jun-2005
Photo © Gruditch 05-Jul-2009	Photo © geniculata	Photo © Clive Burrows

	Aberrations

Description to be completed

Photo © Trev Sawyer	Photo © Pete Eeles 02-Jul-2009	Photo © Pete Eeles 02-Jul-2009	Photo © Pete Eeles 02-Jul-2009
Photo © Martin Jenkins	Photo © Martin Jenkins	Photo © Alan Roe	Photo © Trevor Sawyer
Photo © Gruditch 28-Jun-2009	Photo © Sussex Kipper 07-Jul-2007	Photo © knightct 04-Jul-2010

	Ovum

Eggs are laid singly on the upperside of a leaf of the foodplant, close to the leaf edge. Most eggs are laid less than two metres from the ground. The egg is a curious shape, looking rather like a miniature golf ball covered in miniscule hairs. This stage lasts about a week.

Photo © Pete Eeles 08-Jul-2005

Photo © Nick Sampford

	Larva

On emerging from the egg, the light brown larva eats the shell before moving to the leaf tip to feed. Here is feeds on each side of the midrib on which it rests, leaving the midrib intact, producing characteristic feeding damage that is quite easy to spot. The larva initially decorates itself with faeces that it uses for camouflage, although this is abandoned after a week or so, after which the larva rests quite openly on the midrib.

Toward the end of the summer after the second moult, the larva builds a winter retreat, known as a hibernaculum. This is constructed by securing a leaf to the twig with silk (so that the leaf remains attached to the foodplant even after it has died), removing the edges of the leaf, and then folding what remains of the leaf edges together, forming a compartment within which the larva overwinters.

The larva emerges from the hibernaculum in the spring and, at the final moult, turns green in colour and starts to feed on the leaf edges rather than from the tip. The full-grown and exotic larva is a spectacular beast that would not look out of place in an Amazonian rainforest. It also has a curious habit of resting along the centre of a leaf with both front and back ends raised. There are 4 moults in total.

Photo © Pete Eeles 03-May-2007	Photo © Pete Eeles 05-May-2004	Hibernaculum Photo © Pete Eeles 12-Jun-2004	Photo © Pete Eeles 16-May-2005
Photo © Pete Eeles 16-May-2005	Photo © Pete Eeles 20-May-2004	Photo © Pete Eeles 24-May-2005	Photo © Pete Eeles 30-May-2009

	Pupa

The pupa is typically formed upside down under a leaf or stem of the foodplant, secured by the cremaster. This stage is, again, a very curious shape, with two prominent horns on the head, and a curious protrusion at the back. This stage lasts 2 to 3 weeks.

Photo © Mikhail	Photo © Pete Eeles 12-Jun-2004	Photo © Pete Eeles 19-Jun-2005	Photo © Pete Eeles 31-May-2004
Photo © Pete Eeles 30-May-2009

	Similar Species

No similar species found.

	Videos

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	Sites

Click here to see the distribution of this species overlaid with specific site information. Alternatively, select one of the sites listed below.

Rating	Sites
	Black Park, Bookham Common, Chambers Farm Wood, East Blean Wood, Fermyn Wood, Ryton Wood
	Alice Holt Forest, Ashclyst Forest, Backside Common, Bagmoor Common, Bentley Wood, Bovey Valley Woodlands, Clanger Wood, Hatton Meadows, Holt Country Park, Monkwood, Pamber Forest, Shapwick Heath, Southrey Wood
	Alner's Gorse, Binsted Wood, Bowdown Woods, Bricket Wood Common, Lord's Wood, Lower Woods, Somerford Common
	Snakeholme Pit
	Hockley Woods
Not rated	Angmering Park Estate, Ashampstead Common, Ashtead Common, Avon Heath Country Park, Balls Wood, Bernwood Forest, Betty Daw's Wood, Botley Wood, Bourne Woods, Box Hill Woods, Bradfield Woods, Brampton Wood, Broxbourne Wood NNR, Carpenters Down Wood, Catfield Fen, Chaddesley Woods, Church Wood, Crab Wood, Croes Robert Wood, Duncliffe Woods, Dunsford Meadow, Ebernoe Common and Butcherland, Faggs Wood, Fifehead Wood, Finemere Wood, Forest of Dean, Foxholes, Foxley Wood, Friday Woods, Gentles Copse, Girdler's Coppice, Grafton Wood, Grovely Wood, Hethfelton Wood, Homefield Wood, Hurst Fen and Howlett Hills, Lea and Pagets Wood, Little Linford Wood, Lydlinch Common, Market Weston Fen, Mildenhall Woods, Monk's Wood, Moor Copse, Norbury Park, Orlestone Forest, Oxford Lane, Park Corner Heath, Piddles Wood, Plymbridge Woods, Powerstock Common, Ranmore Woods, Rushbeds Wood, Salcey Forest, Sheringham Park, Shutts Copse, Snitterfield Bushes, Sopley Common, Southwater Woods, Stour Wood, Stubhampton Bottom, Swanpond Copse, The Firs, Tiddesley Wood, Trench Wood, Tudeley Woods RSPB Reserve, Vann lake, Wallis Wood, Walters Copse, Watersmeet, Whitecross Green Wood, Whiteley Pastures

	Conservation Status

This species has shown worrying declines in terms of distribution and population at monitored sites and is therefore a priority species for conservation efforts. Although numbers at existing sites have fallen, the expansion of the range of this species does appear to have continued in the last decade.

UK BAP Status	Distribution Trend	Population Trend
Priority Species Click here to access the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for this species.

From The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland and the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) (2007 review).

	Links

The following links provide additional information on this butterfly.

• British Butterflies by Steven Cheshire
• Butterfly Monitoring Scheme
• European Butterflies by Christopher Jonko
• European Butterflies by Matt Rowlings
• Guy Padfield's European Butterfly Page
• Learn About Butterflies by Adrian Hoskins
• Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
• Natural History Museum (Cockayne Database)

	References

The species description provided here has been derived from the author's own observations and the information contained in the following works:

• A Natural History of British Butterflies, by F.W.Frohawk.
• British and Irish Butterflies, by Adrian M. Riley
• South's British Butterflies, by T.G.Howarth (which is based extensively on the classic work, "The Butterflies of the British Isles", by Richard South).
• The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, by Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington.
• The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, by Jim Asher, Martin Warren, Richard Fox, Paul Harding, Gail Jeffcoate, Stephen Jeffcoate.
• The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Volume 7 (1) Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae (the Butterflies), by A. Maitland Emmet and John Heath (editors).
• The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, Richard Fox, Jim Asher, Tom Brereton, David Roy and Martin Warren.

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