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Georgia Satyr (Neonympha areolata [J. E. Smith])
Wing span: 1 7/16 - 1 15/16 inches (3.7 - 4.9 cm).
Identification: Upperside is brown with no markings. Underside of hindwing has a row of elongated submarginal eyespots which are encircled by a red line.
Life history: Adults have a slow, bobbing flight and rest often. Males patrol low over vegetation to find females. Eggs are laid singly on host plants; caterpillars eat leaves. Fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from June-July in New Jersey; two broods from April-September in most of the range; many broods through most of the year in Florida.
Caterpillar hosts: Probably sedges (Cyperaceae).
Adult food: Not reported.
Habitat: Grassy openings in sandy pinewoods or pine barrens.
Range: Southeastern United States from southern Virginia south along the Atlantic Coast to the Florida Keys, west to southeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Texas.
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: Depends on fire succession habitats.
Note: It has been determined that this species actually consists of two separate species, Neonympha areolata and N. helicta. Future revisions of this page will take this into account.
References:
Gatrelle, R. R. 1999. Huebner’s helicta: the forgotten Neonympha. The Taxonomic
Report 8: 1-8.
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:
Glassberg, J. 1993. Butterflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to
Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region. Oxford Univ. Press,
New York, N.Y. 160 pp.
Clark, A.H. and Clark, L.F. 1951. The Butterflies of Virginia. Smithsonian
Miscellaneous collection No. 116:1-239.
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.
Woodbury, E.N. 1994. Butterflies of Delmarva. Delaware Nature Society, Inc.,
Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, MD. 138 pp. [NOTE: this book only
treats True Butterflies (Papilionoidea). It does not treat Skippers
(Hesperioidea).]
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