Weidemeyer's Admiral
Limenitis weidemeyerii
Males are intensely territorial and will actively chase away rivals, other insect species, and even small birds that enter their sunlit patrol routes.
- Scientific name
- Limenitis weidemeyerii
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Nymphalidae › Limenitis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Riparian corridors, streamsides, aspen groves, and coniferous forest edges.
- Diet
- Adults feed on flower nectar, tree sap, carrion, and damp soil minerals. Caterpillars feed on leaves of willows, aspens, poplars, and cottonwoods.
- Range
- Rocky Mountains, Great Basin, Western United States, Southwestern Canada
- Size
- Wingspan of 5.7 to 7.3 cm (2.25 to 2.8 inches).
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 year (mostly spent as larva); adult butterflies live for 2 to 4 weeks.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, loss of riparian breeding zones due to water diversion, and heavy pesticide use.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely observe this butterfly from a close distance. Do not attempt to catch or touch it, as its wings are extremely delicate and lose vital scales upon contact. If one lands on you to sip sweat for minerals, remain still and enjoy the encounter until it flies off on its own.
Limenitis weidemeyerii , or Weidemeyer's admiral , is a butterfly from the Nymphalinae subfamily, found in western North America.
Photo: JerryFriedman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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