Another splendid life cycle video from VarWild.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOMKfopJkgY
Note that some of the captions relating to the instar are not always correct.
Vince
Red Admiral Life cycle Video
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Vince Massimo
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PhilBJohnson
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Re: Red Admiral Life cycle Video
Thank you for sharing this video, Vince.
The Red Admiral that emerged from pupa, near the end of the video, looked female to me.
If identifying Red Admiral sex by body (abdomen) shape, it might be easier to tell a relative size and shape difference with freshly emerged subjects (that were not "egg spent" or migration spent adults).
Also, it might have been noted, that the "floating" white dot on the upper forewing nearest the red band, tended to be (and this was only a general comparison), larger on a female, than on a male Red Admiral. That white dot appeared to vary in size considerably, between different individuals.
If my above comment was correct, does it mean that some literature goes "out of date", that insisted both sexes were identically marked?
And if so, might it tempt someone with old interests to lie?
#Stock Photos
Kind regards.
The Red Admiral that emerged from pupa, near the end of the video, looked female to me.
If identifying Red Admiral sex by body (abdomen) shape, it might be easier to tell a relative size and shape difference with freshly emerged subjects (that were not "egg spent" or migration spent adults).
Also, it might have been noted, that the "floating" white dot on the upper forewing nearest the red band, tended to be (and this was only a general comparison), larger on a female, than on a male Red Admiral. That white dot appeared to vary in size considerably, between different individuals.
If my above comment was correct, does it mean that some literature goes "out of date", that insisted both sexes were identically marked?
And if so, might it tempt someone with old interests to lie?
#Stock Photos
Kind regards.
Kind Regards,
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Vince Massimo
- Administrator & Stock Contributor
- Posts: 1889
- Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:36 pm
- Location: Crawley, Sussex
Re: Red Admiral Life cycle Video
Hi Philip,
I think the possibility of sexing this species from their upper-side forewing spots is an interesting idea and would merit more research. However the general consensus seems to be that the sexes are superficially similar and cannot be easily differentiated, especially from their undersides or in flight. Of course there are some behavioural differences which can provide some clues. Books on most natural history subjects will go out of date sooner or later, as new research is published or climate change has an effect and I cannot see why anyone would want lie about changes in data.
Vince
I think the possibility of sexing this species from their upper-side forewing spots is an interesting idea and would merit more research. However the general consensus seems to be that the sexes are superficially similar and cannot be easily differentiated, especially from their undersides or in flight. Of course there are some behavioural differences which can provide some clues. Books on most natural history subjects will go out of date sooner or later, as new research is published or climate change has an effect and I cannot see why anyone would want lie about changes in data.
Vince