North American Butterflies and Moths List

The definitive website on wildbirds & nature




The Registry of Nature Habitats

U.S. Geological Survey


Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Georgia

Appalachian Brown (Satyrodes appalachia)
JPG -- species photo

Appalachian Brown (Satyrodes appalachia [R. L. Chermock])

Wing span: 1 7/8 - 2 1/4 inches (4.8 - 5.7 cm).

Identification: Wings are medium brown. Lower side of forewing with the two end eyespots larger than the middle two; spots may not touch. Dark line inside the hindwing row spot is sinuous, not zigzagged.

Life history: To court females, males patrol and occasionally perch in small sunlit openings. Females lay eggs singly on or near the host plants; caterpillars feed on leaves at night and hide at the base of the plant during the day. Third- and fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate.

Flight: One brood from July-September in the north, two broods from June-October in the south.

Caterpillar hosts: Sedge (Carex lacustris) and giant sedge (Rhynchospora inundata) in the sedge family (Cyperaceae).

Adult food: Sap and other non-floral resources.

Habitat: Wooded wet swamps, shrub swamp, forest edges, and along slow-moving streams.

Range: Eastern Minnesota east to central New England and southern Quebec south through the Appalachians and coastal plain to Mississippi and Alabama. Isolated population in north peninsular Florida.

Conservation: Not usually required.

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: None reported.

References:

Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns 
     Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 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:

Harris, L., Jr.  1972  Butterflies of Georgia.  Univ. of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
     OK.  326 pp.
     
Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.
     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.     
Appalachian Brown (Satyrodes appalachia)
distribution map
map legend

Disclaimer
Return to species list
Return to Butterflies of North America main page