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New Zealand red admiral

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New Zealand red admiral
Upper view of the mainland subspecies
Wings underside of the mainland subspecies
Not Threatened
Not Threatened (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Vanessa
Species:
V. gonerilla
Binomial name
Vanessa gonerilla
(Fabricius, 1775)
Subspecies
  • V. g. gonerilla
  • V. g. ida (Alfken, 1899)
Synonyms
  • Bassaris gonerilla (Fabricius, 1775)
  • Papilio gonerilla Fabricius, 1775
  • Pyrameis gonerilla (Fabricius, 1775)
  • Pyrameis ida Alfken, 1899

The New Zealand red admiral (Vanessa gonerilla) is a butterfly endemic to New Zealand. Its Māori name is kahukura, which means "red cloak". The red admiral is a member of the family Nymphalidae, the subfamily Nymphalinae and the tribe Nymphalini. There are two subspecies: V. g. gonerilla, which occurs on the mainland of New Zealand, and V. g. ida, which occurs on the Chatham Islands.

Taxonomy

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This species was first described in 1775 by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius as Papilio gonerilla in his landmark taxonomic paper Systema entomologiae.[1] The specimens used by Fabricius were collected during the first voyage of James Cook, which was the second time Europeans visited New Zealand, making them among the earliest species to be formally described in taxonomic literature.[2] The type specimens (the specimens on which the species description is based) are stored in the Banks collection in the Natural History Museum of London.[3][4][5]

In 1899, German entomologist Johann Dietrich Alfken described the species Pyrameis ida from specimens collected on Chatham Island. The species was named after the collector, Ida Schauinsland, who was visiting the island with her zoologist husband Hugo Schauinsland.[6][7] The specimens described were thought to be lost, but were eventually rediscovered in 2000.[8] This species was later designated as a subspecies of the New Zealand red admiral, with the mainland population being a separate subspecies. The mainland subspecies is commonly referred to as the red admiral whereas the Chatham Islands subspecies is referred to as the Chatham Island red admiral.[9]

There is a single record of the red admiral creating a hybrid with the yellow admiral (Vanessa itea), a closely related species that is also widespread in New Zealand.[10]

Etymology

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It is commonly referred to as the New Zealand red admiral but may also be referred to as kahukura in the Māori language, which is also frequently used. The word kahukura is derived from kakahu and hura, which mean garment and red, respectively.[11][12]

Description

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The red admiral (Vanessa gonerilla)
The yellow admiral (Vanessa itea), which is superficially similar to the red admiral, but has different wing colours

The red admiral has a wingspan of around 50–60 mm.[7] The top side of the forewings are mostly black, with a central bright red bar running back from the front edge. There are blue spots and white spots, fringed with light blue, near the forewing tips. The rear wings have a background colour of dark reddish brown with a red patch containing four black circles, with the centre of each circle having a pale blue dot. However the extent of brown colouring varies somewhat, with some individuals having a pale brown to near-white background colour at the base of the rear wings and tip of forewings. The underside of the rear wings is a mottled collection of white, brown and black shapes, which camouflages the butterfly when at rest.[13][7]

It is somewhat similar to the yellow admiral (Vanessa itea), which overlap in distribution and are frequently found together. However they are easily distinguished by the red orange markings of the forewing whereas the yellow admiral forewings are distinctly yellowish.[7] The two subspecies are very similar and are difficult to distinguish. However, the red marking of the hind wing is less extensive in the mainland subspecies than in the Chatham Island subspecies. The rear margin of the hind wing is also more wavy in the mainland subspecies.[7]

Juvenile stages

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Red admiral caterpillar

The barrel-shaped egg is coloured green and has nine ribs that run vertically up the surface of the egg.[7] Although the adult red admiral is coloured quite differently to the yellow admiral, as caterpillars they are difficult to distinguish. The mature red admiral caterpillar can be distinguished from that of the yellow admiral by the pale pigment markings on abdominal segments four to six, which are somewhat wider in the yellow admiral. The two caterpillars can also be distinguished by the size of setae that run along the very top of the abdominal segments. In the red admiral, the uppermost of these setae are shorter than its base whereas in the yellow admiral the same setae are longer than its base.[7] The Chatham Island subspecies has never been described, but is presumed to be identical to the mainland subspecies.[7]

Red admiral pupating

During the first instar, the caterpillar is coloured brown with a black head and small white markings scattered throughout its body. During this stage the setae are unbranched.  By the end of the first instar, the caterpillar is around 2.5 mm in length. The second instar caterpillar is coloured similarly but also has a white stripe above the legs. In this stage the setae are now branched and the caterpillar reaches up to 5 mm in length. During the third instar, the caterpillar can reach 10mm in length, with markings becoming more obvious and the texture of the head being more bumpy. The fourth instar is similar to the third, but with spines of the body now being on raised bumps. In the fifth (final) instar, the caterpillar grows up to 36 mm in length. Most are black to dark brown on the upper side of the body with light brown and green on the under side. The head is greenish with dark patches.[7] During the pupal stage, it is generally coloured dull brown, with the abdomen being paler than the rest of the body. The surface of the pupa has metallic gold knobs and is highly sculptured. In the last days before completing pupation, the wings are visible through the surface of the pupa.[7]

Distribution and habitat

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The red admiral is relatively common throughout most of New Zealand, including on Stewart Island.[7] The Chatham Island subspecies is widespread on Chatham Island and Pitt Island, the second largest island in the group.[14] The species can be found in a variety of habitat, including suburban gardens, forests and on mountains.[7]

Diet

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Urtica ferox, the main host plant of the red admiral

The primary host plant for red admiral larvae is the native stinging nettle or ongaonga (Urtica ferox), although larvae can also eat other Urtica species such as Urtica incisa.[7] In a study where the red admiral was presented with several species of Urtica to lay eggs on, it was found to preferentially lay eggs on Urtica ferox. When the caterpillar was grown on this species, it was generally heavier than when grown on other species, indicating that it was an optimal food source for the caterpillar. This was suggested to be an example of the preference-performance hypothesis, where a species will preferentially lay eggs on plants that are most suitable for the species.[15] The Chatham Island subspecies is reported to use Urtica australis as a host plant.[15] As an adult, the red admiral feeds on flower nectar from numerous species and on the sap of Nothofagus (beech) trees.[16]

Life cycle

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Tent structure produced by the red admiral caterpillar. The structure is held together by silk strands

Egg laying generally commences in September and proceeds until late May (early spring to late autumn).[16] The eggs are typically laid at the tip of the leaves, often on the side with the stinging hairs.[7] The egg has a low survival rate. In one study in the Canterbury region, the red admiral egg had a mortality rate of around 95%.[17] After the eggs are laid on their host plant, they will hatch into caterpillars after eight to ten days.[16]

To leave the egg, the caterpillar eats a hole in the top of the egg, but does not eat the rest of the egg, unlike the yellow admiral.[7] In its host plant, the caterpillar creates a tent-like structure out of a live leaf by bending and pulling the tip of the leaf and fastening it with silk strands. In this tent structure, the caterpillar feeds on the leaf, possibly venturing out during night also. Due to the host plants stings, the caterpillar is extremely safe in the tent. It takes five to six weeks for the caterpillar to develop through its five instars (developmental stages). The caterpillar then pupates in the tent, at the stem of the plant or on another solid structure.[7][16] To do this, it suspends itself from its rear with a strand of silk, then over the course of about a day, it twists its old exoskeleton off, exposing its pupal form.[18] After two to three weeks, the adult red admiral emerges. The adult appears to be most abundant during October.[16] The adult lives for several months, potentially up to a year if it is overwintering.[7]

Based on surveys of egg, larva and adult populations, it appears that the red admiral is multivoltine (producing multiple generations per year) with surveys finding it completes two generations per breeding season, and a third generation may begin (but not be completed) during suitable years. Both during its adult and caterpillar stage, the red admiral during late autumn (the end of their breeding season) tends to be long-lived and will over-winter until the next season. In one multiple year survey, populations were less dense during a low-rainfall season, which may have been because the host plant had lower survival rates. Unlike many other Vanessa butterflies, the red admiral does not migrate.[16]

Behaviour

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The Chatham Island subspecies is reported to be more timid and flighty than the mainland subspecies.[19] The red admiral is a strong flier that usually moves in an erratic pattern. If crossing a water gap, it will remain a couple of metres above the surface and fly straight. When in flight, the wings move near constantly and only briefly enter a gliding position.[7] There is also a single record of a Vanessa specimen, presumed to be the red admiral, which was found onboard a ship off the coast of Antarctica. This was suggested to be evidence that they can travel considerable distances.[7] It has also been reported as a vagrant (animal that has drifted outside its normal distribution) on Macquarie Island, which is about 1,130 south west of New Zealand.[20] It has been noted when the red admiral caterpillar is overwintering, it can make a grating noise when disturbed, perhaps to scare away predators.[19] The mandibular gland, which produces saliva-like substances, of the red admiral caterpillar has been found to produce high amounts of chemosensory proteins (proteins that interact with other chemicals to make them detectable). While the exact reason for this is not known for certain, it has been proposed that the mandibular gland is used to detect chemical stimuli, possibly to enable it to recognise host plants or detect other caterpillars.[21]

Predators and parasites

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Echthromorpha intricatoria, which parasitises the red admiral caterpillar
Pteromalus puparum emerging from a Lepidoptera pupa

The ichneumonid wasp Echthromorpha intricatoria (cream-spotted ichneumon) from Australia was first recorded in New Zealand in 1900, apparently being self-introduced.[22] It is a parasitoid that lays its eggs in the pupa of the red admiral. In the pupa, the eggs develop into larvae, which then burst out of the pupa and mature into adults, a process which kills the pupa.[16] When the pupa is being parasitised by the wasp, it causes the pupa to become a rust colour.[7] Similarly, the pteromalid wasp Pteromalus puparum was introduced by government entomologists in 1932–33 to control the adventive cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae), a serious agricultural pest in New Zealand.[23] This wasp is also a parasitoid that parasitises the red admiral pupa in the same way E. intricatoria does.[16] Because P. puparum appear to be unable to survive overwintering in red admiral populations, the red admiral pupa alone is not sufficient to sustain the population of P. puparum and other hosts are needed to maintain populations.[24]

In a survey at Banks Peninsula, P. puparum was present in 3.5–16.9% of red admiral pupae, depending on the survey site, whereas E. intricatoria was present in 67.5–82.3% of red admiral pupae.[16] Similarly, in surveys from the Wellington, Canterbury and Dunedin regions, E. intricatoria had a parasitism rate of 67% in the red admiral pupa whereas P. puparum had a rate of 8%, although the surveys were suggested to be an overestimate.[17] E. intricatoria also appears to be capable of overwintering in the pupae. Because of the high level of parasitism by E. intricatoria, it was suggested that this may be a major cause in the supposed decline of the red admiral.[16] Statistical modelling of red admiral populations in Banks Peninsula has inferred that P. puparum may be suppressing red admiral populations by roughly 5% whereas E. intricatoria is suppressing it by around 30%.[24]

Cermatulus nasalis (the brown soldier bug), which is native to New Zealand where it is widespread, has been observed preying upon red admiral caterpillars.[25][26] The eggs of the red admiral are known to be parasitised by the parasitoid wasp Telenomus crinisacri, from the family Scelionidae, which lays its offspring in the eggs.[27] In one study, Telenomus caused around 57% of mortality in the red admiral egg.[17] The fly Pales, from the family Tachninidae, is also known to parasitise the red admiral caterpillar.[7] There is a record of a red admiral caterpillar infected with the nuclear polyhedrosis virus, which in other hosts replicates in the nuclei of cells and produces protein crystals.[28][29] Chalcites lucidus (the shining bronze cuckoo) has been observed feeding on red admiral caterpillars.[30]

Conservation

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As of 2025, under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, the red admiral mainland subspecies is listed as "Not Threatened" whereas the Chatham Islands subspecies is categorized as "Uncommon" with the qualifier of "Island Endemic".[31][32] There is anecdotal evidence that the red admiral is in decline, but because there are no historical records of their abundance, it is very difficult to assess accurately.[16] It has been suggested that this is due to spraying and the decline of native nettle plants, although nettle numbers are also affected by drought; nettle species are now being cultivated by NZ Forest & Bird and some councils as a butterfly food.[33] It has been proposed that the presence of exotic parasitic wasps may have led to the species supposed decline.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Fabricius, J C (1775). Systema entomologiae : sistens insectorvm classes, ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibvs, observationibvs / Io. Christ. Fabricii (in Lat). Flensbvrgi et Lipsiae: In Officina Libraria Kortii. p. 498. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.36510.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  2. ^ Andrews, J R H; Gibbs, G W (1989). "The first New Zealand insects collected on Cook's Endeavour voyage". Pacific Science: 113. ISSN 0030-8870.
  3. ^ Watkins, H T G (1923). "Notes on the butterflies of the Banks collection". The Entomologist. 56: 205.
  4. ^ "Collection specimens - Specimens - BMNH(E)668138 - Data Portal". Natural History Museum Database. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  5. ^ "Collection specimens - Specimens - BMNH(E)668139 - Data Portal". Natural History Museum Database. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  6. ^ Afken, J D (1899). "Pyrameis ida nov. spec. ein neuer Tagfalter nebst einer Varietat von den Chatham Islands". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 22: 5–8.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Gibbs, G W (1980). New Zealand butterflies: identification and natural history. Auckland: Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-216955-4.
  8. ^ Prpíc, N-M (2000). "Re-discovered type material of Pyrameis ida Alfken, 1899 (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)". New Zealand Entomologist. 23 (1): 87–88. doi:10.1080/00779962.2000.9722074. ISSN 0077-9962.
  9. ^ Ferro, D N; Lowe, A D; Ordish, R G; Somerfield, K G; Watt, J C (1977). "Standard names for common insects of New Zealand". Entomological Society of New Zealand Bulletin. 4: 4. ISSN 0111-7696.
  10. ^ Ordish, R G (1969). "A natural hybrid butterfly of the genus Vanessa in New Zealand". Records of the Dominion Museum, Wellington. 6 (11): 141–144.
  11. ^ Miller, D (1952). "Insect people of the Maori". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 61 (1–2): 12.
  12. ^ "kahukura". Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  13. ^ Hudson, G V (1898). New Zealand moths and butterflies (macro-Lepidoptera). London: West, Newman & Co. pp. 106–107.
  14. ^ Early, J W; Emberson, R M; Muir, C A; Barratt, B I P (1991). Lincoln University Entomological Expedition to Pitt Island 10-24 January 1990 (Report). Lincoln University. p. 16. Archived from the original on 5 June 2026.
  15. ^ a b Sanger, G J; Lord, J M; Jandt, J M (2025). "Preference and performance of Pūrerehua Kahukura (Vanessa gonerilla gonerilla) on native and introduced nettles of Aotearoa". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 49: 3581. doi:10.20417/nzjecol.49.3581. ISSN 1177-7788.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barron, M C; Wratten, S D; Barlow, N D (2004). "Phenology and parasitism of the red admiral butterfly Bassaris gonerilla (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 28 (1): 105–111. ISSN 0110-6465.
  17. ^ a b c Barron, M C; Barlow, N D; Wratten, S D (2003). "Non-target parasitism of the endemic New Zealand red admiral butterfly (Bassaris gonerilla) by the introduced biological control agent Pteromalus puparum". Biological Control. 27 (3): 329–335. doi:10.1016/S1049-9644(03)00028-8.
  18. ^ Hudson, G V (1892). An elementary manual of New Zealand entomology. Being an introduction to the study of our native insects. London: West, Newman, & Co. pp. 66–67.
  19. ^ a b Hudson, G V (1928). The butterflies and moths of New Zealand. Wellington: Ferguson and Osborn Limited.
  20. ^ Patrick, B (1994). "Antipodes Island Lepidoptera". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 24 (1): 114. doi:10.1080/03014223.1994.9517457. ISSN 0303-6758.
  21. ^ "Chemosensory proteins, major salivary factors in caterpillar mandibular glands". Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 42 (10): 796–805. 2012-10-01. doi:10.1016/j.ibmb.2012.07.008. ISSN 0965-1748.
  22. ^ Parrott, A W (1952). "New Zealand Ichneumonidae. II Tribe Echthromorphini (Pimplinae)". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 80: 164.
  23. ^ Muggeridge, J (1933). "The white butterfly (Pieris rapae) and its parasites. A record of recent control work". New Zealand Journal of Agriculture. 47: 139–141.
  24. ^ a b Barron, M C (2007). "Retrospective modelling indicates minimal impact of non-target parasitism by Pteromalus puparum on red admiral butterfly (Bassaris gonerilla) abundance". Biological Control. 41 (1): 53–63. doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2007.01.002. ISSN 1049-9644.
  25. ^ Ramsay, G W (1963). "Predacious shield-bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in New Zealand". New Zealand Entomologist. 3 (2): 3. doi:10.1080/00779962.1963.9723050. ISSN 0077-9962.
  26. ^ Larivière, M-C (1995). "Cydnidae, Acanthosomatidae, and Pentatomidae (Insecta: Heteroptera): systematics, geographical distribution, and bioecology". Fauna of New Zealand. 35: 32. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.35. ISSN 1179-7193.
  27. ^ Quail, A (1901). "Hymenopterous parasite of ovum of Vanessa gonerilla". Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 33: 153.
  28. ^ Glare, T R; O'Callaghan, M; Wigley, P J (1993). "Checklist of naturally occurring entomopathogenic microbes and nematodes in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 20 (2): 104. doi:10.1080/03014223.1993.10422867. ISSN 1175-8821.
  29. ^ Chiu, E; Coulibaly, F; Metcalf, P (2012). "Insect virus polyhedra, infectious protein crystals that contain virus particles". Current Opinion in Structural Biology. Theory and simulation/Macromolecular assemblages. 22 (2): 236. doi:10.1016/j.sbi.2012.02.003. ISSN 0959-440X.
  30. ^ Gill, B J (2024). "Post‐mortem examinations of New Zealand birds. 3. Shining cuckoos (Chrysococcyx lucidus Aves: Cuculinae)*". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 51 (3–4): 13. doi:10.1080/03014223.2023.2299446. ISSN 0301-4223.
  31. ^ "Vanessa gonerilla gonerilla". The New Zealand Threat Classification System. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  32. ^ "Vanessa gonerilla ida". The New Zealand Threat Classification System. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  33. ^ Dickey, Delwyn (10 March 2016). "Stinging native plant behind butterfly comeback". Stuff. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
[edit]
  • New Zealand red admiral discussed on RadioNZ Critter of the Week, 1 July 2016
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