Limenitis populi female Nymphalidae Poplar Admiral Lepidoptera butterfly

Poplar Admiral, female, upperside , sitting on a poplar leaf. Poplar admiral is widespread in continental Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan. The large, seldom-seen poplar admiral is one of the biggest butterflies in Europe. It is found in deciduous forests, where aspen (Populus tremula) or black poplar (Populus nigra) trees grow. The males are easier to find. The females are rarer, because they tend to stay in the tops of the trees and seldom venture to the ground. The wingspan in spread specimens varies for the females from 82 to 96 mm. The butterflies feed on aspens, and occasionally also black poplars in warm, wind-free locations. It is there that they lay their green eggs on the top side of the leaves. Male are seen first the females stay at the top of the trees and are sometimes found on the ground about two weeks later, only in the morning, often when the males are no longer seen. Male flight can be very fast, the female flight is quite slow, somewhat like a glider. The now rare poplar admiral is a protected species. The species is endangered primarily due to the clearing of forests containing the trees that they must feed on to survive, and replacement with more economically valuable conifer forests.