- Megisto cymela
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Little Wood Satyr Dorsal view, Ottawa, Ontario Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus: Megisto Species: M. cymela Binomial name Megisto cymela
(Cramer, 1777)Subspecies M. c. cymela
M. c. viola (Maynard, 1891)Synonyms Papilio cymela
The Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela) is a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America.
Contents
Description
- Adult
The wingspan is 29–48 mm. The forewing has two yellow-rimmed black spots on both sides, dorsal and ventral. The hindwing has two spots on the dorsal side but have smaller spots on the ventral. The other all color is light brown.
- Caterpillar
The body is light greenish-brown with a dark dorsal line and alternating brown and yellowish lateral stripes. The surface of the caterpillar has bumps, these bumps bear short reddish-brown hairs. The head is dirty white while the tail hairs are light gray.
Range & Habitat
They are seen in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, Nova Scotia south into Florida west to Texas, Saskatchewan and Wyoming. As the name implies the Little Wood Satyr is most commonly seen in woods and shrubby areas.
Life cycle
Adults in the northern portions of their range fly between June and July while their southern populations fly between March and September. Adults have a slow "bouncing" flight but they will rise as far as the top of tall trees. Females lay eggs singly on grass, the fourth-instar caterpillars hibernate.
Larval foods
- Dactylis glomerata
- Poa pratensis
- Eremochloa ophiuroides
Adult foods
References
- "Species Megisto cymela - Little Wood Satyr - BugGuide.net". http://bugguide.net/node/view/474. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- "Megisto". http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/satyrinae/megisto/index.html#cymela. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- "Species Detail Butterflies and Moths of North America". http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1851. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
External links
- Little Wood-Satyr, Butterflies of Canada
Categories:- Butterflies and moths of North America
- Euptychiina
- Butterflies of Canada
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