We can't get enough of the Red Admiral butterflies that have swept into New York City. Yesterday's beautiful weather meant that many were fluttering about in the sky—or taking the D train. We asked Dr. Christie Johnson, curatorial associate at the American Museum of Natural History's Division of Invertebrate Zoology, about the Vanessa atalanta and learned how we, as New Yorkers, can attract them!
The Red Admiral butterflies' migration started in March and they have been traveling from the south (from southern states like Texas or even from the Antilles and Guatemala). Some of the butterflies will head to Canada, and a portion of the butterflies will actually settle here: Johnson said they are actually pretty common butterflies, but they are more active in our region during the summer; our cold winters, though, kill them off (their lifespan, correspondingly, is about a year).
The butterflies will lay their eggs now, and some ways New Yorkers with gardens can keep them around is by planting stinging nettles and hops, which the caterpillars can munch on. The butterflies feed on nectar and love New York asters and butterfly bushes.
As for why we're seeing so many, Johnson said there are a number of factors, one of the biggest being the mild winter we had and many more butterflies being able to overwinter. So enjoy them!
