Southern White Admiral (Limenitis reducta) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Taken at Rupite hot springs, Bulgaria, on June 25th 2014. (1/125th sec at f13. © David Hastings) DescriptionFamily: Nymphalinae Wing span: 55 - 65mm A freshly emerged Southern White Admiral is velvety black with a steely blue sheen. The underside is chestnut brown with white patches. The sexes are similar. It is widespread in southern Europe, including the Mediterranean islands except Crete and the Balearics. Primary habitats are sheltered woodland clearings and rrides, dry pine forest, light woodland and scrub, river valleys and shrubby rock slopes up to 1600m. There are two broods in the south, May/June and July/August, but only one in the north, in June/July. Larvae feed an a range of Honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) Males are territorial, monitoring their patch from a high perch or actively patrolling a small area. Sightings
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