Red Admiral Invasion

11 years ago

Apparently this doesn't happen often. We have thousands here on Long Island and they are very early this year.

I'm hoping to get host plants in the ground for a second brood. All I can find locally is hops. I know they also lay on nettle but can't find anything commercially available. Any suggestions?

Here is a link that might be useful: Abundance of Red Admirals

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Comments (8)

tepelus
11 years ago
I've noticed a lot of them here in Ohio as well.

Karen
MissSherry
11 years ago
Some of those probably came from my house! :)

This year I only found one tiny little white cocoon in a red admirals nest, so parasitization was WAY down, probably the reason for the explosion.

They use Boehmeria cylindrica/false nettles here, and, if you've got a wet/damp spot in your yard, that would be a good choice. They're an attractive plant, and they're nettles without the stinging spines. Susan in Oklahoma finds them on elm trees, and they use regular stinging nettles elsewhere. Anything in the Order Urticales might be used by them, although they've never used my hops vines.

The only place I know of where you can order false nettles is from the Shady Oak Butterfly Farm in Florida, but I checked their site, and it's not listed. If you still want them later in the summer or in the fall, I can send you some seeds.

Sherry
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linda_tx8
11 years ago
They also use pellitories, but that's usually growing wild, not cultivated plants. All those RA's seem to be about gone here. Now I'm see a few Common Buckeyes.
larry_gene
11 years ago
The actual term for a sudden, temporary increase in population (in this case butterflies) is "irruption".

But if you feel you have been invaded, that is a good word also.
kwoods
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks so much for your helpful replies Sherry and Linda!

I have been searching pellitories, boehmeria and urticales on google images in the hope that I may have been weeding them out here or that I might encounter them on one of my hikes.

Sherry! So happy you are still here and that you're still enjoying leps! Hoping you are well and that there are LOADS of Saturniids for you this year!
edith_lee
11 years ago
Shady Oak Butterfly Farm has them in stock! They will be on the site later today or early tomorrow. You can email charlotte@shadyoakbutterflyfarm.com to learn more.
MissSherry
11 years ago
Yes, I'm getting lots of leps, kwoods!

I'll check the Shady Oak site to see what else you might have added, Edith - you carry the best selection of butterfly plants out there!

I need to correct something. I said that Susan in Oklahoma finds red admiral cats on her elms. That was wrong - she finds question marks on her elms. I guess my senior mind got it confused, because both red admirals and question marks use my false nettles. That's another reason to have false nettles, by the way, double duty!

I hope nobody went out and bought elm trees hoping for red admirals!

Sherry
fighting8r
11 years ago
@Larry_Gene - LOL