Tag: Butterfly

Little Wood Satyr

Little Wood Satyr (Megisto cymela). Not brightly colored. Not large. But this is not a moth but it is a butterfly. Its wingspan is 1.5 to 1.875 inches. They often perch with wings wide open on the leaves of trees or in leaf litter.

Larval host plants are sundry grasses such as Kentucky Bluegrass, Orchard Grass, Centipede Grass and some sedges. As adults they feed on sap, fruit, carrion, aphid honeydew and in unusual occasions nectar. Their caterpillars overwinter in leaf litter, emerging in the spring.

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Northern Pearly Eye

Rather than open meadows, which butterflies often prefer, the Northern Pearly Eye, Enodia anthedon, choses to flutter about in the woods, whether shady or with sun filtering through.

Fluttering by, feeling the need to rest, he’ll land upside-down to view his world.

His caterpillar hosts are various species of grasses, grasses which are happy living on the forest floor.

As an adult he dines on dung, mud, fungi, rotting fruit, carrion, and sap from willows, poplars, and birch.

A clever little guy, with an average wingspan of a bit more than 2 inches, this butterfly knows just where to land as I stalk him with my camera. He checks out the available landing spots and if it’s available he’ll chose a patch of poison ivy, just out of reach, as a safe haven.