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 North Carolina

Southern Pearly Eye (Enodia portlandia)
JPG -- species photo

Southern Pearly Eye (Enodia portlandia [Fabricius])

Wing span: 2 3/16 - 2 3/4 inches (5.6 -7 cm).

Identification: Antennal clubs are orange. Upperside is brown with dark eyespots at the margins. Underside is light brown; submarginal row of 4 spots (Florida females may have 5) on forewing is slightly curved and brown line inside this spot row is straight or zigzagged. Spots are encircled by diffuse white.

Life history: Males perch on tree trunks, sometimes head downward, to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly on or near the host plant; caterpillars feed on leaves. Older caterpillars hibernate.

Flight: Three broods from March-October.

Caterpillar hosts: Bamboo: giant cane (Arundinaria gigantea) and switch cane (A. tecta).

Adult food: Sap, rotting fruit, carrion, dung.

Habitat: Shady, damp woods near stream-fed swamps.

Range: Eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas east through the southeastern United States.

Conservation: Its swamp forest habitats are gradually disappearing in the Southeast.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Management needs: Conserve and minimally manage all remaining habitats.

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:


Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998.  The Butterflies of 

     Canada.  University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON.  280 pp. 

     

Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.     

Southern Pearly Eye (Enodia portlandia)
distribution map
map legend

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