Yellow Admiral
Scientific name: Vanessa itea
Alternative name/s:
Australian Admiral
Australian Admiral
Click to enlarge image
Yellow Admiral Butterfly, Lepidoptera, a striking butterfly with black and orange colourings and a large yellow patch on its wings.
Image: Bruce Hulbert
© Bruce Hulbert
© Bruce Hulbert
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Vanessa
- Species
- itea
- Subfamily
- Nymphalinae
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Super Family
- Papilionoidea
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Class
- Insecta
- Subphylum
- Uniramia
- Phylum
- Arthopoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- 5 cm
The Yellow Admiral is a striking butterfly with black and orange colourings and a large yellow patch on its wings.
Australian Admiral, Vanessa itea, a striking butterfly with black and orange colourings and a large yellow patch on its wings.
Image: -
© Australian Museum
© Australian Museum
Identification
Each forewing has a blue eyespot underneath.
Habitat
The Yellow Admiral lives in urban areas, forests and woodlands.
Distribution
This map shows species occurrence observations from data recorded in the Atlas of Living Australia.
Reproduction and life cycle
The female Yellow Admirals search for plants in the nettle family, including stinging nettles, on which to lay their eggs. When the brown, spiky larvae emerge, they feed on the nettles.
Behaviours and adaptations
The Yellow Admiral butterfly has a habit of resting vertically on walls, fences and tree trunks and is commonly seen in urban gardens feeding on flowers.
