Red admiral
Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758)
LCLeast Concernbutterflies and moths
The red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is an insect in the family Nymphalidae and the order Lepidoptera, part of the butterflies and moths group. Its wingspan has a representative value of 5.1 cm, and sources report values from 4.5 to 5.7 cm.
Quick facts about the red admiral
The IUCN Red List classifies it as Least Concern in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category. It belongs to the subfamily Nymphalinae, tribe Nymphalini and genus Vanessa, with the scientific name authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 4.5 cm – 6.6 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Scavengersrc for Diet
- Main food
- flowerssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, human_modified, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- On the wing
- All yearsrc for On the wing
- Generations a year
- Severalsrc for Generations a year
- Larval food plants
- Urticaceae familysrc for Larval food plants
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the red admiral?
Photos of the red admiral
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the red admiral live?
Not recorded
What is the red admiral?
Vanessa atalanta, the red admiral or, previously, the red admirable, is a well-characterized, medium-sized butterfly with black wings, red bands, and white spots. It has a wingspan of about 2 inches (5 cm). It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The red admiral is widely distributed across temperate regions of North Africa, North America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. It resides in warmer areas, but migrates north in spring and sometimes again in autumn. Typically found in moist woodlands, the red admiral caterpillar's primary host plant is the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica); it can also be found on the false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica). The adult butterfly drinks from flowering plants like Buddleja and overripe fruit. Red admirals are territorial; females will only mate with males that hold territory. Males with superior flight abilities are more likely to successfully court females. It is known as an unusually calm butterfly, often allowing observation at a very close distance before flying away, also landing on and using humans as perches.
From the Wikipedia article “Vanessa atalanta” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vanessa_atalanta&oldid=1360427804), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the red admiral endangered?
The red admiral is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the red admiral classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyNymphalidae
- genusVanessa
- SpeciesVanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Nymphalis atalanta, Papilio atalanta, Pyrameis aestiva, Pyrameis albimaculata, Pyrameis atalanta, Pyrameis bipunctata, Pyrameis cyanosticta, Pyrameis cyclops, Pyrameis dewalschei, Pyrameis eos, Pyrameis flava, Pyrameis flavescens, Pyrameis flavomaculata, Pyrameis fracta, Pyrameis martha, Pyrameis merrifieldi, Pyrameis merrifieldoides, Pyrameis millierei, Pyrameis ochrobrunnea, Pyrameis pallida, Pyrameis rubra, Pyrameis rubria, Pyrameis sordida, Pyrameis testacea, Pyrameis umbrosa, Vanessa admiralis, Vanessa atalanta, Vanessa atalanta, Vanessa atalanta, Vanessa edwardsi, Vanessa klemensiewiczi, Vanessa klymene, Vanessa octocyanea
Other names and names in other languages (34)
- vanesaAsturian
- матыльBelarusian
- АдміралBelarusian
- АдмиралBulgarian
- babočka admirálCzech
- Mantell GochWelsh
- Mentyll CochWelsh
- Y Fantell GochWelsh
- AdmiralDanish
- Admiral-takvingeDanish
- Admiral-papilioEsperanto
- numeradaSpanish
- Almirante gorriBasque
- دریاسالار سرخPersian
- amiraaliFinnish
- vulcainFrench
- numéro quatre-vingt-dix-huitFrench
- papillon à numéroFrench
- vanesse amiraleFrench
- NûmerflinterWestern Frisian
- Aimiréal deargIrish
- Ardmarragh jiargManx
- נימפית הסרפדHebrew
- KrejenkUpper Sorbian
- Atalanta-lepkeHungarian
- aðmírállIcelandic
- vulcanoItalian
- ヨーロッパアカタテハJapanese
- ადმირალიGeorgian
- Perîdankmîrê sorKurdish
- AdmirolasLithuanian
- AtalantaDutch
- rusałka admirałPolish
- amiralSwedish
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the red admiral
Other species in the same genus Vanessa.
Painted lady
Vanessa cardui
American lady
Vanessa virginiensis
Asian admiral
Vanessa indica
Red admiral
Vanessa gonerilla
Australian painted lady
Vanessa kershawi
Godart's admiral
Vanessa vulcania
CompareRed admiral vs Painted ladyRed admiral vs American ladyRed admiral vs Asian admiralRed admiral vs Red admiral
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How big is the red admiral?
The red admiral has a representative wingspan of 5.1 cm, with sources reporting values from 4.5 to 5.7 cm.
Is the red admiral endangered?
No. The red admiral is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
What kind of animal is the red admiral?
The red admiral is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, belonging to the order Lepidoptera and the family Nymphalidae.
What is the scientific name of the red admiral?
The scientific name of the red admiral is Vanessa atalanta, and it is placed in the genus Vanessa.
What family does the red admiral belong to?
The red admiral belongs to the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae and tribe Nymphalini.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/vanessa-atalanta
“Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/vanessa-atalanta.
@misc{vanessa_atalanta_2026,
title = {Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/vanessa-atalanta},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}