Florida Leafwing
Anaea floridalis
Description 2 3/4-3" (70-76 mm). FW tip extended, hooked; small tail on HW. Outline finely scalloped. Above, bright red-orange with dark, crescent-shaped markings along margin and across wings. Below, FW yellowish, HW brown striated with black.
Similar Species Goatweed Butterfly overlaps only narrowly in S. central Florida; is not so brightly or heavily marked, and wing outline is smooth, not scalloped.
Life Cycle Caterpillar green, white-dotted and yellow-striped. Chrysalis green, stubby, and rounded. Woolly croton (Croton linearis) is host plant.
Flight 2 or more broods; any month.
Habitat Hammocks, woodland edges, limestone bluffs, and keys.
Range S. Florida including Keys; occasionally as far north as Gainesville.
Discussion Older books call this butterfly Portia (A. portia), now recognized as an Antillean species. Leafwings differ in shape from brood to brood; summer individuals have wings that are less hooked. When at rest, they can be mistaken for leaves. All leafwings are extremely wary, rapid fliers.
Source
