Phenology and parasitism of the red admiral butterfly Bassaris gonerilla (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
Population densities of the endemic red admiral butterfly, Bassaris gonerilla, were monitored over two summers on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand. Egg-laying usually begins in September and ends in late May. Peaks in egg, larval and adult densities suggest that B. gonerilla completes two full generations per season and in favourable years, a third generation is started but not completed. Population density was lower in a low-rainfall season probably because of the lower survival and nutritional quality of the host plant, Urtica ferox.