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Red Admirals Arrive Early in Central Iowa

I spotted the first Red Admirals of the season in Ames, Iowa on March 30 – the earliest arrival date since 2012. On this sunny early afternoon, I was walking along a path in the woods behind our house, on the way to check two wildlife cameras, when I spotted the first of them basking on a bed of leaves. After watching and photographing it for some minutes, I continued along the path and then uphill toward the fox den that we were monitoring. While I was changing the batteries in the cameras, there was a dark brown flash – another Red Admiral, several times landing and flying short hops before disappearing to the northeast.

Upon returning to the initial spot, there was yet another Red Admiral with more wing wear than the first one. This butterfly seemed to be perching and patrolling the area. Finally, I saw a fourth Red Admiral in migratory straight-line flight toward the northeast.

These butterflies arrived shortly after a tongue of warm, moist air flowed ...more ↓

Posted on April 03, 2024 04:09 AM by iowabiologist iowabiologist | 0 comments | Leave a comment
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The Vanessa Migration Project is an opportunity for you to share your observations of Vanessa butterflies to find out how they migrate and distribute themselves across North America each year. We are tracking the movements and seasonal changes in ...more ↓

iowabiologist created this project on March 29, 2016
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