Identification: Upperside is brown-black with irregular chalky white patches. Underside is white with brown at the outer and costal margins. Wing Span: 1 1/8 - 1 1/2 inches (2.9 - 3.8 cm). Life History: Females deposit eggs singly on leaves of the host plants, which the caterpillars eat. Caterpillars rest in leaf shelters. Flight: Three to four broods throughout the year in South Texas. Caterpillar Hosts: Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra) in Texas and Gaudichaudia pentandra in Mexico; both in the Malpighia family. Adult Food: Flower nectar. Habitat: Small clearings and edges in tropical woods, city flower gardens, roadsides, fencerows, streamsides. Range: Argentina north through tropical America to the West Indies and South Texas. Strays north to southern Arizona, Nevada, and Kansas.


Santa Catalina Mountains
Sabino Canyon.
Location: On Desert Lavendar (Persicaria lapathifolia) and Camphorweed beside creek above dam.
12/12/21

Note: frequently cloaks/mantles flower with bent wings

See Butterflies and Moths of North America Pictures and Description