Red Spotted Purple

Red Spotted Purple female butterflies prefer to lay eggs along the tips of cherry or willow leaves near water courses or along power or gas line right of ways near forest edges. Once the egg hatches into a young first instar caterpillar, it begins to feed around the vein of the leaf; creating a conspicuous perch and then extending that perch with dung and debris.

When the caterpillar molts to second instar, it shows a visible white saddle that measures daylength in order to assess whether it will hibernate/build a hibernaculum at third instar or go through to adult. The best way to raise caterpillars is to keep your room light on 24 hours a day so that caterpillars feed through to adult and bypass hibernation. If your larva does construct a hibernaculum, click here for overwintering instructions.

Click on any image below to launch a slide show on how to raise red spotted purples. To see a video on how to handle caterpillars, click here. If you feel bored during the winter months, it is possible to find these hibernacula and resume rearing them in the spring.

Red Spotted Purple Male

This is a healthy red spotted purple that just emerged from its chrysalis. It usually takes 2-3 hours for the butterfly to be ready to fly.
Red Spotted Purple Habitat

Here is a photograph taken of Limenitis astyanax astyanax habitat taken along a powerline right-of-way in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
Black Cherry or Wild Cherry

Here is a photo of wild cherry (Prunus serotina.) Females will deposit eggs on the tips of leaves. Try to find shorter trees that are somewhat isolated along forest edges. Here is a video of how I found caterpillars of the weidemeyer's admiral (closely related to the red spotted purple) on an isolated chokecherry in Utah. See next photos for what the eggs look like.
Black Cherry

Close up.
Red Spotted Purple Rearing Terrarium

While raising red spotted purple caterpillars on willows, cottonwoods, or wild cherries, one option is to place a "bouquet" of host plant in a glass terrarium and then secure the terrarium with a glass lid. This allows a nearly 100 percent humid environment which is appropriate for any admiral or viceory. Rearing these caterpillars in a 5 or 6 gallon bucket also works fine as long as you raise them in a 100 percent humidity setup.
Red Spotted Purple Rearing Terrarium

Closeup from previous photo.
Red Spotted Purple egg on wild cherry

Photograph of a Limenitis astyanax astyanax ovum deposited on the tip of a wild cherry leaf (Prunus serotina.) Courtesy Harry Pavulaan.
Red Spotted Purple egg on wild cherry

Red spotted purple ovum up close.
Red Spotted Purple First Instar Caterpillar

This young first instar caterpillar had only been feeding for a few hours before it started building a small perch by eating away the leaf and exposing the vein followed by extending that vain with dung pellots. As this larva grows, the perch also grows and becomes conspicuous to the human eye.
Another Red Spotted Purple First Instar Caterpillar

Another young first instar caterpillar constructing a small perch by eating away the leaf and exposing the vein followed by extending that vain with dung pellots.
Red Spotted Purple Second Instar

Limenitis astyanax astyanax second instar larva on its perch on lab host sandbar willow (Salix exigua).
Red Spotted Purple Second Instar Set to Molt

Limenitis astyanax astyanax second instar caterpillar set to molt to third instar.
Arizona Purple Caterpillar Perch

In the Eastern and Midwestern U.S, when looking for eggs or caterpillars of red spotted purples or viceroys on willows or cherries, the most obvious visual queue to look for either is a conspicuous egg on the tip of the leaf or a perch similar to this photo.

For more examples of photos of perches, click here.
Red Spotted Purple Hibernating Caterpillars

It is possible to search for red spotted purple hibernating caterpillars in the fall and winter. The best time to go on a hibernaculum hunt is in the winter when the wild cherry trees have dropped their leaves. Here is a video on how to find RSP hibernacula.
Red Spotted Purple Third Instar Caterpillar

Caterpillar set to molt to fourth instar.
Red Spotted Purple Fourth Instar Caterpillar
Red Spotted Purple Fourth Instar Caterpillar
Red Spotted Purple Fifth Instar
Red Spotted Purple Fifth Instar Caterpillar
Red Spotted Purple Fifth Instar
Red Spotted Purple Fifth Instar
Red Spotted Purple Prepupa
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Lorquin's Admiral Pupae

After your red spotted purple creates a chrysalis on either the leaf or a branch, cut around the pupa on the leaf or snip that portion of the branch that has the pupa and attach--with masking tape or similar--to the lid of an emergence container similar to what you see below.
Lorquin's Admiral Pupa

Closeup to previous photo.
Emergence Container

Emergence container with admiral pupa attached to the lid; ready to emerge.
Limenitis astyanax astyanax adult female

Photo courtesy Nicky Davis.