Red Admiral
Vanessa atalanta
May 16, 2010
 


  The Red Admiral is a modest-size butterfly, and however one interprets admiral, the Red Admiral is a Lady (or Vanessa) butterfly.

The Red Admiral is one of the easier butterflies to identify, with its U-shaped red-orange stripe.

 
Red Admiral, wings open
 
  The wings closed view of the Red Admiral below is a somewhat deceptive. The underwings have an intricate black pattern, but the combination of backlighting and translucent wings allows the red-orange stripe and white dots to show through here.
 
Red Admiral, wings closed
 
  This has been a wonderful spring for Red Admirals, inasmuch as I have seen several every day for the past few.

Photo note: I used the Pentax K20D, with the SMC-DA 55-300mm lens, for both photos, taken on May 13 and 15, 2010.



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