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Photo: Luc Viato via Wikimedia Commons
Red Admiral butterflies cover North Country
Canton, NY, May 10, 2012 — Over the last several days, much of the North Country has been virtually blanketed with small orangey-red butterflies.
They look like monarchs, but they're not. They're a species called Red Admirals, or Vanessa Atalanta. Red Admirals are native to this area, and some will settle here for the summer. Their caterpillars eat nettles so they're not a danger to crops. But we don't usually see this many, and they don't usually pass through this early in the year.
They look like monarchs, but they're not. They're a species called Red Admirals, or Vanessa Atalanta. Red Admirals are native to this area, and some will settle here for the summer. Their caterpillars eat nettles so they're not a danger to crops. But we don't usually see this many, and they don't usually pass through this early in the year.
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Nora Flaherty spoke with butterfly researcher Elizabeth Howard. She’s the director of the “Journey North” project, which tracks butterfly migrations through a network of citizen reporters. Howard said the early appearance of the Red Admirals, and their huge numbers, can be explained by this spring’s record-setting high temperatures.
