| Neutral | Magpye | On Aug 12, 2006, Magpye from NW Qtr, AR
(Zone 6a) wrote:Wing span: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).
Identification: Antennal clubs are black. Upperside is brown with dark eyespots. Underside is brown; submarginal row of 4 black spots on forewing is straight and the dark line inside it is sinuous. Spots are not surrounded by diffuse white.
Life history: Males perch on tree trunks or vegetation up to 10 feet above ground at edges of clearings to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly on the host plant; third- and fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood in the north from June-August, two broods in the south from May-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Various grasses including white grass (Leersia virginica), bearded shorthusk (Brachyelytrum erectum), plumegrass (Erianthus), broadleaf uniola (Uniola latifolia), and bottlebrush (Hystrix patula).
Adult food: Dung, fungi, carrion, and sap from willows, poplars, and birch.
Habitat: Damp deciduous woods, usually near marshes or waterways; mixed or grassy woodlands.
Range: Central Saskatchewan and eastern Nebraska east to Nova Scotia, south to central Alabama and Mississippi. |
