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Red Admirals Arriving in the upper Midwestern U.S. and southern Ontario

April 11, 2019

As I was writing here last month, I’ve been following the enormous Painted Lady migration that’s been happening in California and the Southwest since late January to early February.  While this migration continues northward, it’s now also time to turn more attention eastward as wind and weather patterns have become favorable for Red Admirals and American Ladies to migrate northward into the upper Midwest,  the eastern states, and southern Ontario.  Painted Ladies may be arriving in our area somewhat later this spring, perhaps from the west, or perhaps from a smaller

Two Red Admiral Migration Waves in Upper Midwest and Southern Ontario

April 30, 2019

Red Admirals continue to become more abundant in the upper Midwest and southern Ontario, despite several intervening interludes of cold weather. They migrated in on days when warmer, moister air was flowing up from the south. The first of two migration waves occurred on April 15-16, resulting in an abrupt increase in both butterflies and observers noticing them for the first time this year.

Red Admirals Arriving in the Upper Midwest

April 27, 2021

I've received an e-mail from a friend who was wondering when Red Admirals would be arriving in the upper Midwest this spring.  He had not seen any postings of that species on the Wisconsin Butterflies recent sightings page, or on iNaturalist, and asked me how unusual it is to not see Red Admirals this far into the season.

Red Admirals Are Arriving in the Upper Midwest

April 10, 2023

Spring has arrived here in Iowa, and so have the butterflies, including Red Admirals.  After the last three years with low numbers, it’s now looking like 2023 is going to be a more active, abundant, and exciting year for Red Admirals.  I’m still not sure how the Painted Lady population will develop this year, owing to the unusually intense and variable weather in California this past winter.