Common name: Indian Red Admiral.

Scientific name: Vanessa vulcania Godart, 1819

Family: Nymphalidae

Distribution: Common, widely spread out in gardens and open spaces all over Madeira. It may be found in the Laurissilva, north of the island. Common resident.

Description: Its size may be 52-65 mm. Males and females are similar in their aspect. Black forewings with bright pinkish red marks. The red stripes in the forewings are interrupted by three incomplete black stripes along the inferior edge.

Conservation statute and Threats: Common.

Observations: It is thought that this Macronesian butterfly is a relic from the tertiary period, when Laurissilva's subtropical forests covered a large part of the Southern Europe and Northen Africa.