Posts Tagged: Red Admiral

Not a Good Way to Welcome an Admiral

It was not a good way to welcome an admiral. The Red Admiral butterfly, that is. The Vanessa atalanta fluttered into our pollinator garden on Sunday, July 16 in Vacaville, Calif., and touched down on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). The warmth of...

A territorial male long-horned bee, probably Melissodes agilis, targets a Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A territorial male long-horned bee, probably Melissodes agilis, targets a Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The long-horned bee makes a "bee line" for the butterfly, a Red Admiral. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The long-horned bee makes a "bee line" for the butterfly, a Red Admiral. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee slams into the butterfly and takes off for another round. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee slams into the butterfly and takes off for another round. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Admiring the Red Admiral

So, you're taking a winter walk through the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden, part of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Gardens. You're looking for the winter daphne, Daphne odora Aureomarginta. You see a daphne sign in the Storer Garden but what's that on the...

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta, basking on a daphne sign in the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Gardens, on Jan. 28. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta, basking on a daphne sign in the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Gardens, on Jan. 28. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the Red Admiral. It's looking a little tattered but it's the dead of winter, Jan. 28. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the Red Admiral. It's looking a little tattered but it's the dead of winter, Jan. 28. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the Red Admiral. Shortly after this photo was taken, it fluttered away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the Red Admiral. Shortly after this photo was taken, it fluttered away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Red Admiral Challenging 'Gender Norms'

Think back to the first time you spotted a Red Admiral butterfly. You probably admired it and said something like "Ooh, look at that!" That may be how its name originated; someone corrupted "admirable" to "admiral." And mistook "orange" for "red." The...

A Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) forages on Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) forages on Jupiter's Beard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Red Admiral butterfly hesitantly spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Red Admiral butterfly hesitantly spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An Admiral at the Marina

There's nothing like seeing an admiral at a marina. That would be the Red Admiral butterfly, Vanessa atalanta, at the Berkeley marina. It's often very common in the urban Bay Area, says butterfly expert Art Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology...

A West Coast Lady at the Berkeley Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A West Coast Lady at the Berkeley Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Red Admiral at the Berkeley Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Red Admiral at the Berkeley Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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