Red admiral butterfly
Vanessa atalanta
Role in the garden
A migratory butterfly familiar in gardens: black, red and white, about 6-7 cm wingspan. The adult is a pollinator; its spine-bristled caterpillars feed mainly on nettles (Urtica dioica), sometimes on pellitory or hop. Conservation: preserving nettles = preserving red admirals.
Activity period
March to October (until November in a mild climate)
How to attract / manage it
The decisive argument for leaving a patch of nettles in the garden: without nettles, far fewer red admirals, peacocks and small tortoiseshells.
Practical guide
Where to find them
Adults on nectar-rich flowers (ivy, buddleia, sedum), often in autumn (August-October), when they build up reserves before migration. Caterpillars: mainly on nettles, in a folded leaf “tent” (characteristic).
Prevention
Keep a sunny, sheltered patch of nettles, ideally to the south-west. Autumn nectar plants (sedum, flowering ivy, asters). No mowing of the nettles before the end of October.
Sources
- LPO : fiche espèce Vulcain (lpo.fr)
- Butterfly Conservation : Red Admiral (butterfly-conservation.org)
Favourite plants / resources
Related plant entries
Lavender
A Mediterranean subshrub with evergreen grey foliage, true lavender forms structuring low edges and hedges that hold the dry garden together in full sun, on poor, dry, free-draining soils. Its summer flowering is among the most melliferous in the garden: it offers nectar and pollen at the height of summer, an often lean period, and draws honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies, the latter beneficial insects whose larvae devour aphids. A refuge for wild pollinators, it is traditionally planted along vegetable borders and near roses, its scent reputed to help diversify the surrounding odours. Drought-tolerant and hardy once established, it clothes rockeries, banks and paths without watering, while keeping its grey outline all year round.
Nettle
Traditionally used as a fertilising liquid manure. A host plant for many butterfly species (peacock, red admiral, small tortoiseshell, map, and several moths) and a refuge for many helpers: precious at the garden's edge.
Ground ivy
An aromatic ground cover that dresses cool, shaded corners, offers one of the very first nectars of spring to solitary bees, when resources are still scarce, and flavours cooking.