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 Texas

Chestnut Leafwing (Anaea echemus)

Chestnut Leafwing (Anaea echemus [Doubleday])

Wing span: 2 1/4 - 2 3/4 inches (5.7 - 7 cm).

Identification: Upperside is dark chestnut brown with diffuse black near the edges. Hindwing has at least 2 white-capped black spots near tail. Underside resembles a dead leaf.

Life history: Males perch to await for females. Young caterpillars make a perch out of a leaf midvein; older ones live in a rolled leaf shelter.

Flight: The dry season form flies from August-March; the wet season form from March-November. Flies in May in South Texas.

Caterpillar hosts: Cuala (Croton lucidus) in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae).

Adult food: Rotting fruit and carrion.

Habitat: Various tropical forest habitats.

Range: Cuba. Butterflies are occasionally blown by wind to the Isle of Pines; New Providence, Andros, and Cayman Islands; and very rarely to South Texas.

Conservation: Not required for rare stray.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: GU - Unable to assign rank due to lack of available information.

Management needs: None reported.

References:


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.



Smith, D. S., L. D. Miller, and J. Y. Miller. 1994. The butterflies of the West 

     Indies and South Florida. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 264 pages, 32 

     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.

     

Chestnut Leafwing (Anaea echemus)
distribution map
map legend

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