The red admiral is a member of the family Nymphalidae, the subfamily Nymphalinae and the tribe Nymphalini.

[1][2] The top side of the forewings is mostly black, with a central bright red bar running back from the front edge.

When revealed, the underside of the forewings display a striking blue eyespot bracketed by white and red arcs.

Anecdotal evidence suggest their numbers have been declining since the early 1900s, and the species has reportedly disappeared from Auckland.

The Australian white-spotted ichneumon wasp Echthromorpha intricatoria is self introduced, and the pteromalid wasp Pteromalus puparum was introduced by government entomologists in 1932–33 to control the adventive cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae), a serious agricultural pest in New Zealand.

One study at Banks Peninsula noted that 1–19% of red admiral pupae were parasitised by P. puparum, and 20–30% by E.

[2] The adults feed on nectar from various plant species (native and introduced) and occasionally on seepage of sap.