Back to Butterfly Index Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta Wing span: 1 3/4 to 3 inches Caterpillar hosts plants: foliage of elm, and members of the nettle family (Urticaceae) including hop, Humulus Adult food: bird droppings, fermenting fruit, rotting fruit, tree sap Habitat: marshes, moist fields, moist woods, parks, seeps, yards Notes: females lay eggs singly on tops of host leaves, hibernates as adult, males perch (especially on ridgetops) to locate females, puddles. Back to Butterfly Index