Southern Dogface (female)

Description:

One of two species in this genus in North America with a wingspan 50-76 mm. The pattern of the upper forewing resembles a yellow "dog face" bordered by black, with a black circle forming the eye. They are residents in California, Texas, and Florida; regular migrant across southern two-thirds of United States, with occasional strays recorded as far north as central Canada and the Great Lakes.

Habitat:

Habitat consists of open areas such as roadsides and pastures. They have three flights in the southern states from May-June, July-August, and September-April. Northern colonists have one generation per year, or do not reproduce at all. Larvae feed on legumes (plants in the pea family) such as Alfalfa (Medicago sativa); prairie clover (Pentalostemon), Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens), False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), Soy Bean (Glycine max), Black Dalea (Dalea frutescens), Purple Prairie Clover (Dalea purpurea), and clover (Trifolium) species

Notes:

I took a couple hundred shots of this one and only managed to get a few in flight. It doesn't open it's wings unless it in full flight. So in this first shot, it was so bright that I had to darken it's highlights and contrast to get these markings on the bottom wings to show. The second picture shows a little green on the butterfly's face. I think that it's some plant matter. This one was originally found on my Cape Honeysuckle but seemed to like this Fire Bush the best.