Red Spotted Purple Butterfly: Blue Black Beauty of Limenitis astyanax

Summary: Native to central/eastern U.S., Red Spotted Purple Butterfly (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) mimics Pipevine Swallowtail's black and iridescent blue colors.

Red Spotted Purple in Bloomington, southwestern Indiana: Saxophlute, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Limenitis arthemis astyanax is a New World butterfly native to southeastern Canada and central and eastern United States.

In Canada, Limenitis arthemis astyanax is native to southern Ontario, stretching from Georgian Bay into the southwestern peninsula.

In the United States, homelands range from southern New Hampshire southward to central Florida and westward through the eastern stretches of the eastern Great Plains states from North Dakota through Texas.

The trio of scientific names for Limenitis arthemis astyanax reflects the butterfly’s status as one of four subspecies within the arthemis species.

Limenitis arthemis astyanax is known commonly in English as Red Spotted Admiral or as Red Spotted Purple. The common name of admiral reflects its membership in the Limenitis genus, known commonly as the admirals.

Associated with forests, Red Spotted Purple Butterfly favors deciduous wooded habitats such as forest edges and openings as well as at roadsides and along woodland trails. Red Spotted Purple also may be found along small hills and on hilltops.

As mud puddlers, Red Spotted Purple Butterflies seek damp microenvironments such as gravel paths and roads in order to extract moisture and nutrients.

As a large butterfly, Red Spotted Purple measures wingspans of almost 4 inches (100 millimeters).

Forewings are long and rounded. Hindwings display scalloped edges.

Dorsal, or upperside, wing colors feature black forewings and iridescent blue hindwings. Orange oblong rows framing forewing blackness contrast vividly with iridescent blue margins. Curved white dash marks edge all wing margins.

Ventral, or underside, wing colors present dull brown or black backgrounds. Undersides are brightened with orange spots spraying basally from near thorax. They are framed with prominent orange band. Ventral wings are edged with two rows of iridescent blue, curved dashes.

Red Spotted Purple Butterfly eludes predators through mimicry. Minus the distinctive swallowtail, Red Spotted Purple Butterfly resembles the black-and-blue themed Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor), which repels predators via a foul-tasting reputation.

As a member of the global Nymphalidae family, known commonly as brush-footed butterflies, the Red Spotted Purple may hold its wings flat open while resting. While mud puddling, the Red Spotted Purple rhythmically opens and closes their wings -- thereby giving spectacular views of undersides and uppersides -- possibly in mimicry of Pipevine Swallowtail's noticeable fluttering during nectaring.

Favorite host plants Limenitis arthemis astyanax larvae include Wild Cherry Tree (Prunus serotina), Deerberry Shrub (Vaccinius staminiun) and Carolina Willow Tree (Salix caroliniana).

Nectar sources favored by Limenitis astyanax include carrion, overripe to rotten fruit and tree sap.

Last week a Red Spotted Purple leisurely cruised past my east living room window, which looks over the front porch. Augusta "Gusty" Sunshine, my Maine Coon black-and-white kittycat, followed me to the door, where I beheld the gorgeous butterfly resting on a damp spot on the porch's concrete floor.

The Red Spotted Purple only relocated half a dozen times to different, accessible areas of the porch after I slowly ventured outside. Lying down flat, inching like a worm, with Gusty alongside me, I was able to take closeups with my cellphone camera. Oftentimes my outstretched hand rested at a closeness of less than 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) from the unfazed butterfly.

After about 15 minutes, the Red Spotted Purple soared up from the porch floor, tracing a graceful arch toward the southern column and beyond toward the rugged Virginia Red Cedar Tree (Juniperus virginiana). The Red Spotted Purple then disappeared amid the towering American Pokeweeds (Phytolacca americana), blackberry brambles (Rubus fruticosus) and Yellow Crownbeards (Verbesina occidentalis) of the southwestern meadow.

Red Spotted Purple in Hot Springs National Park, central Garland County, west central Arkansas: Ks0stm, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Red Spotted Purple in Hot Springs National Park, central Garland County, west central Arkansas: Ks0stm, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Limenitis_arthemis_astyanax_side_view.jpg

Red Spotted Purple in Bloomington, southwestern Indiana: Saxophlute, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_Spotted_Purple.JPG