59.028 : 1596 : 7257
Nymphalidae : Nymphalinae

Camberwell Beauty

NYMPHALIS antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Picture
Kind permission - © Tim Norriss
Life Cycle Guide - Europe
Picture
Description
Wingspan: Male - 50 - 67 Female - 59 - 76mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding (Canary Is.,Crete,Cyprus,Gibraltar,Madeira,Malta,Sardinia & Sicily) : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : N & C Turkey : Temperate Asia : N America : northern mountains S America
UK Distribution: Rare migrant to British Isles from Scandinavia & mainland Europe
UK Conservation Status -
  • Migrant
European Conservation Status -
  • Least Concern
Original Species Name -
  • Papilio antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Species - Nymphalis
  • Papilio polychloros (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Locality -
  • Sweden,America
Flight Period: mid July - September -after hibernation February - May
Habitat: Deciduous Woodland including : Gardens : Parks
Similar Species -
  • None
Ova: The butterfly deposits its eggs in large numbers around host plant twigs
Larva: The 50mm final instar larva is black with a red spot on most segments dorsally. Head and spines blackand the body is covered with tiny white dots. Early stage larvae live gregariously in silken web
Overwinters as: Adult
Observations: This spectacular butterfly was once called "The Grand Surprize" and in America called the "Morning Cloak" was named from the original two specimens flying around willow trees in Camberwell,London way back in 1748.
Since then approximately 2000 butterflies have been recorded with the best years being,1789,1793,1820,1846,1872,1947,1976,1995 and 2006.In 1995 more than 500 Camberwell Beauty were seen and in 2006 it was 273.
It is an irregular migrant to the British Isles from Scandinavia and mainland Europe where most are found along the south east coast of England, being even rarer inland.
Very few of these butterflies can survive our winter, and as such none go on to breed which always takes place after hibernation.
Small numbers may be seen in April but the prime months to see this butterfly are August and September.
Photo Gallery
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Larval Food Plants
Taxonomy
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Subspecies:
Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Papilionoidea 
Nymphalidae
Nymphalinae
Nymphalini
NYMPHALIS Kluk 1780
Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Papilio polychloros (Linnaeus, 1758)
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PAPILIO antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Vanessa antiopa
= morio (Retzius, 1783)
= Vanessa borealis Wnukowsky, 1927
= Euvanessa antiopa
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Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.476 - n.112
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Sweden,America
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N. a. antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) - Nominate Subspecies - Sweden
N. a. hyperborea (Seitz, 1914)
N. a. asopos (Fruhstorfer, 1909) - Japan
N. a. asopos (Fruhstorfer, 1909) - Sichuan