Mariposa Pavorreal

Description:

Identification: Upperside is white with light brown markings and a double row of light crescents at the margins. Forewing has one round, black spot; hindwing has two. Dry season (winter) form is larger and paler; wet season (summer form) is smaller and darker. Wing Span: 2 - 2 3/4 inches (5.1 - 7 cm). Life History: Males patrol and occasionally perch to find females. Eggs are laid singly near the host plant or under its leaves. Flight: Throughout the year in South Texas and the Deep South. Caterpillar Hosts: Water hyssop (Bacopa), Ruellia, and Lippia. Adult Food: Shepherd\'s needle (Bidens pilosa) in Florida; Cordia, Casearia, and composites in Central America.

Habitat:

Open, moist areas such as edges of ponds and streams, along shallow ditches, weedy fields, parks. Resident from Argentina north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to South Texas and southern Florida. Migrates and temporarily colonizes to central Texas and coastal South Carolina. A rare wanderer to North Carolina, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas.