Cercyonis sthenele

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Great Basin wood-nymph
Cercyonis sthenele paulus male.jpg
Cercyonis sthenele paulus, male
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Cercyonis
Species:
C. sthenele
Binomial name
Cercyonis sthenele
(Boisduval, 1852)
Synonyms
  • Satyrus sthenele Boisduval, 1852[1]

Cercyonis sthenele, the Great Basin wood-nymph, is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.

Description[]

It is dark brown with two eyespots on the forewing with the upper larger than the lower.[2]

The wingspan measures 39–44 mm (1.5–1.7 in). Its flight period is from late June to late August.[3] It is found in arid woodland, especially pinyon-juniper, chaparral and brushland habitats.[4]

Subspecies[]

The following subspecies are recognised:[5]

  • C. s. paulus (Edwards, 1879)
  • C. s. masoni Cross, 1937

Similar species[]

  • Common wood-nymph (Cercyonis pegala) – larger, eyespots similar in size
  • Small wood-nymph (Cercyonis oetus) – lacks lower eyespot in males, lower eyespot is closer to margin than upper eyespot in females[3]

Range and distribution[]

Ranges over much of the western United States and reaches to southern British Columbia, Canada.[3]

Larval host plants[]

Larvae feed on various species of grass. The first instar hibernates.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ [1] Butterflies of America
  2. ^ Brock, Jim P.; Kaufman, Kenn (2003). Butterflies of North America. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-15312-8.
  3. ^ a b c d "Great Basin Wood-nymph". Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility. 2002. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Cercyonis sthenele". explorer.natureserve.org.
  5. ^ "Cercyonis Scudder, 1875" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
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