The year-round phenology of the migratory Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in a Mediterranean area in southern Spain

Abstract

Many studies report the migratory status of Vanessa atalanta in the Palearctic. Available evidence indicates that this species migrates north in spring to reproduce and south in autumn to reproduce in the Mediterranean area. However, little is known about the year-round phenology and their overwintering in southern regions. Here, I present data on the year-round phenology of adult V. atalanta recorded during a three year period (2014-2016) at 5 lowland sites (< 80 m a.s.l.) near the coast close to Cadiz (southern Spain). Overall, a total of 826 imagoes were recorded along 1499.3 km of Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (BMS) transects. Abundance was 0.55 butterflies/km (data for all sites and years pooled) and varied greatly among sites and years. Coinciding with the migratory status, imagoes were recorded from September to June each year and the year-round abundance showed a typical bimodal distribution with two peaks of abundance, one in late winter (February) and another in autumn (November). Abundance was higher in spring (0.87 butterflies/km) than in autumn (0.60 butterflies/km). The emergence of a local generation in late winter was also recorded. My results agree with the migratory phenology of this species in the Palearctic and support the year round phenology data reported by Stefanescu (2001).