North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Texas

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:


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.

     

Mexican Fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia)
distribution map
map legend

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