Cardinal Butterfly
Argynnis pandora
Underneath its brilliant orange upper wings, the Cardinal features a stunning underside washed in deep raspberry-pink and brilliant metallic green streaks.
- Scientific name
- Argynnis pandora
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Nymphalidae › Argynnis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Sunny forest edges, woodland glades, and scrubby hillsides up to 2,600 meters.
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar (especially thistles like Carduus and Cirsium). Larvae feed exclusively on violets (Viola species).
- Range
- Southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Middle East
- Size
- Wingspan of 64 to 80 mm.
- Lifespan
- 1 to 2 months as an adult; up to 1 year total life cycle.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, intensive agriculture, and loss of larval host plants due to overgrazing or land clearing.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely observe this butterfly from a few feet away as it feeds on flowers. Do not try to catch or handle it, as their wings are highly fragile and losing scales can impair their flight.
Argynnis pandora , the cardinal , is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is common throughout southern Europe and is also found in northern Africa and the Middle east and then east across the Palearctic to northwestern India.
Photo: no rights reserved, CC0, via iNaturalist
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