Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548
Marpesia zerynthia
This record describes Marpesia zerynthia (species). Recorded family: Nymphalidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Brock & Kaufman, rare stray to south Texas Bordelon & Knudson, very rare stray to TX, not reported from the valley, so far. Neck, rare stray to Rio Grande Valley, Far West [Texas] Scott, rare stray to w and s Tex. (July, Oct.) Howe, El Paso, Tex., Oct. 2, 1910. LACM. (see Plate 15. LACM = Los Angeles County Museum) Klots, occasional in southern Texas (Pharr, October) Holland, sometimes found in Texas Edwards, Hab. -Texas; New Mexico.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Papilionoidea
- Family
- Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
- Subfamily
- Cyrestinae
- Genus
- Marpesia (Daggerwings)
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
rare stray to s. & w. TX / Mex. to S. Amer. - (BOA); plus 1x stray to se AZ (BG data), BAMONA includes record from Houston. Re: Mexico: William H. Howe and James Jacques spent 5 months around Tamazunchale , in southern San Luis Potosi, Mexico from January to June. By June, Marpesia coresia assembled along the mudflats along the Rio Axtla. (Welling M., 1978). Southern SLP seems to be the northernmost locality where this sp. occurs annually. Durden reports, "I never encountered this species in Tamaulipas or states east of the Chihuahuan Desert." (C.J. Durden, pers. comm. to MAQ, 2015)
Diet and Behavior
Diet: unknown ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 8 ) (BOA)
Life History
see discussion in DeVries (1987) ( 8 )
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Marpesia zerynthia. Species-specific details appear above.
Group overview
Lepidoptera includes approximately 180,000 described species of butterflies and moths. Moths outnumber butterflies roughly 10:1. The monarch butterfly's eastern population has declined by more than 80% since the mid-1990s, and the western population by over 95% since the 1980s. The IUCN lists the migratory monarch as Vulnerable.
Ecological role of the group
Butterflies and moths are essential indicators of ecosystem health. As caterpillars, they are a primary food source for birds - a single nest of blue tit chicks requires ~10,000 caterpillars. Adult moths pollinate many night-blooming plants.
Economic and practical significance of the group
Lepidoptera are critical pollinators. In Europe, grassland butterfly species have declined by almost 50% since the early 1990s. In the UK, three-quarters of butterflies are in decline. In the U.S., five butterfly species have gone extinct since 1950, with 29 listed as endangered.
Recorded sources for this group: IUCN Red List, Xerces Society, USFWS, PNAS, WWF. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.
Photos of Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548 (3)
Photo credits: Contributed by John S. Ascher; Additional contributions by Mike Quinn
Frequently Asked Questions About Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548
What is Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548?
Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548 (Marpesia zerynthia) is a species in the family Nymphalidae, within the order Lepidoptera.
Where is Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548 found?
Range: rare stray to s. & w. TX / Mex. to S. Amer. - (BOA); plus 1x stray to se AZ (BG data), BAMONA includes record from Houston. Re: Mexico: William H. Howe and James Jacques spent 5 months around Tamazunchale , in southern San Luis Potosi, Mexico from January to June. By June, Marpesia coresia assembled along the mudflats along the Rio Axtla. (Welling M., 1978). Southern SLP seems to be the northernmost locality where this sp. occurs annually. Durden reports, I never encountered this species in Tamaulipas or states east of the Chihuahuan Desert. (C.J. Durden, pers. comm. to MAQ, 2015)
What does Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548 eat?
The diet of the Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548 includes unknown ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 8 ) (BOA).
What is the life cycle of a Waiter Daggerwing - Hodges#4548?
see discussion in DeVries (1987) ( 8 )