Red-spotted Purple butterflies are found in all states east of the Continental Divide, Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana. Sporting orange spots and a metallic blue color, many people wonder how it obtained the name “Red-spotted Purple”.
Red-spotted Purple butterflies host on several shrubs and trees, including wild cherry (Prunus), deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), willows (Salix), basswood (Tilia), oaks (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus), aspen, poplar, cottonwood (Populus), birch (Betula), and shadbush (Amelanchier). We have raised them on black cherry, willow, and deerberry.
Females land on a leaf, back down the leaf, and lay an egg on the tip of the leaf.