North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Texas

Soldier (Danaus eresimus)
JPG -- species photo

Soldier (Danaus eresimus [Cramer])

Wing span: 2 3/4 - 3 3/4 inches (7 - 9.5 cm).

Identification: Upperside is brownish orange, darker at the wing bases; both wings with thin black veins. Forewing has fewer white spots than the Queen. Underside of hindwing has a pale band of blotchy pale spots.

Life history: Not reported.

Flight: From August-December in South Texas; all year in southern Florida, most common from October-December.

Caterpillar hosts: Milkweeds and milkweed vines.

Adult food: Flower nectar.

Habitat: Open pastures and fields, edges of seasonally dry tropical forests.

Range: Southern Florida and South Texas south through the West Indies and Central America to Brazil. A rare stray to southern Arizona and southern New Mexico.

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: Conserve breeding areas in refuges along the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

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:

Neck, R.W. 1996. A Field Guide to Butterflies of Texas. Gulf Publishing Co., 
     Houston, Texas.

Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 
     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 
     Privately published, Denver, Colo. 

Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 
     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
     
Tveten, J. and Tveten, G.  1996.  Butterflies of Houston & Southeast Texas.
     Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, TX.  292 pp.
     
Soldier (Danaus eresimus)
distribution map
map legend

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