Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 14.iv.2024

Limenitis camilla / White Admiral
Admirali i bardhë
Nymphalidae - Limenitidinae

Limenitis camilla (Linnaeus, 1764). TL: Germany.

1a. Limenitis camilla, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Limenitis camilla ♂ upperside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Limenitis camilla ♂ underside, first specimen for Albania. Rragam, Albania (© Ofir Romer, )
1d. Limenitis camilla ♀ upperside, first specimen for Albania. Rragam, Albania (© Ofir Tomer, )
1e. Lonicera spec., foodplant of Limenitis camilla. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Limenitis camilla ♂ underside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1g. Limenitis camilla ♂ upperside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Large butterfly. Fw: 26-30 mm.
Ups: black gc with white postdiscal markings.
Upf: faint or absent white cell-spot, small white apical spots, irregular white postdiscal band, dark submarginal spots.
Uph: regular white postdiscal band, dark submarginal spots, sometimes reddish submarginal markings at anal angle.
Uns: orange-brown gc, grey-blue basal suffusion, similar pattern of markings but larger.
Unh: double series of small black postdiscal spots.
♀♀
Similar size.
Ups and uns: slightly larger markings.

Similar species

Limenitis reducta Ups: bluish-black gc. Upf: whitish-pale blue sm spots. Uph: whitish-pale blue sm spots. Unh: single row of dark postdiscal spots. Neptis rivularis Upf: vestigial white stripe in cell. Upf: oblique broad, white pd spots. Uph: single oblique white discal band. Unf: vestigial white strip in cell. Unf: oblique broad, white pd spots. Unh: one white discal band. Neptis sappho Upf: white stripe and triangle in cell. Upf: oblique broad, white pd spots. Uph: two oblique white bands. Unf: white strip in cell. Unf: oblique broad, white pd spots. Unh: two white bands.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from June to early August, a partial second generation is possible in September.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L3 larva.
Pupa: short stage.

Habitat
Limenitis camilla inhabits all kinds of open, moist forests from 200 up to 1500 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement modest, population density can be high, nomadic after a population explosion.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed mainly on Lonicera periclymenum, also mentioned are L. caprifolium, L. nigra, L. xylosteum and Symphoricarpos albus.
Butterflies feed on flowers, often Rubus.

Distribution
Albania: very local in the Northern Albanian Alps (more research needed) and at the southern limit of its distribution range in the Balkan peninsula.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA* - EEU
Asia Minor*, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

Conservation status
Limenitis camilla is not endangered, at the southern limit of its distribution range in the Balkan peninsula.
Albanian Red List: VU.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps
(url) Cuvelier S., Parmentier L., Qirinxhki X. & Paparisto A. 2023. Butterflies of Albania new data and going online. Fluturatat e Shqipërisë të dhëna të reja dhe faqja online (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) — Buletini i Shkencave te Natyres, Tirana university. 32(2022): 5-31.

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