North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of California

Mexican Fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia)
JPG -- species photo

Mexican Fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia [Cramer])

Wing span: 2 9/16 - 2 15/16 inches (6.5 - 7.5 cm).

Identification: Upperside of both wings with basal half unpatterned orange, and little or no contrast between basal and outer parts. Hindwing margins not angled; underside orange-brown with darker pattern.

Life history: Adults fly swiftly and erratically above low vegetation, while the sun is shining. Eggs are laid singly on host plants.

Flight: September-October in central Texas, all year in South Texas and tropics.

Caterpillar hosts: Passion-vines (Passiflora), morning glories (Convolvulaceae), and Turnera.

Adult food: Nectar from flowers of Lantana, Stachytarpheta, and Turnera; occasionally dung.

Habitat: Openings, edges, fields, and weedy areas in tropical and subtropical lowlands and foothills.

Range: Resident in Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies. Strays to southern California, central Arizona, and central Texas.

Conservation: Not required for stray.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Management needs: Not reported.

References:


DeVries, P. J. 1987. The butterflies of Costa Rica and their natural history. 

     Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 

     New Jersey. 327 pages, 50 color plates.



Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Peterson 

     field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates.



Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, 

     Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:


Brown, J.W., Real, H.G., and D.K. Faulkner. 1992. Butterflies of Baja 

     California. Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif.



Comstock, J.A. 1927. Butterflies of California. Privately published, Los 

     Angeles, Calif. [Facsimile available from 	Entomological Reprint 

     Specialists, Los Angeles, Calif.]



Dameron, W. 1997. Searching for butterflies in southern California.

     Flutterby Press, Los Angeles, Calif.



Emmel, T.C. Editor. 1998. Systematics of western North American butterflies.

     Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Florida.



Emmel, T. C. and J. F. Emmel. 1973. The Butterflies of Southern California. 

     Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series No. 26.



Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies.  California Natural

     History Guide 51. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los 

     Angeles.

     

Langston, R.L. 1981. The Rhopalocera of Santa Cruz Island, California. Journal

     of Research on the Lepidoptera 18: 24-35.     



Miller, Scott E. 1985. Butterflies of the Califorenia Channel Islands. Journal

     of the Research on the Lepidoptera 23: 282-296.     



Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 

     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.



Orsak, L.J. 1977. The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Museum of 

     Systematic Biology, University of california, Irvine.



Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 

     Privately published, Denver, Colo.



Steiner, J. 1990. Bay Area Butterflies: The Distribution and Natural History 

     of San Francisco Region Rhopalocera. Hayward, Calif.: Hayward State 

     University, Masters Thesis.



Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.



Tilden, J.W. 1965. Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region. California 

     Natural History Guide 12. University of California Press, Berkeley and 

     Los Angeles.

Mexican Fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia)
distribution map
map legend

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