Common Wood-Nymph
Cercyonis pegala
Description 2-2 7/8" (52-73 mm). Large. Highly variable. Above, light cocoa-brown to deep chocolate-brown (very pale in N. Great Basin). Below, paler and heavily striated with darker scales. Normally FW above and below has 1 or 2 small to very large black eyespots, often yellow-rimmed, with small white or large blue pupil; eyespots may lie in a vague or discrete broad band of bright or dark yellow. HW above may have small eyespots; HW below may have 1 or 2 small eyespots or a full row of 6 eyespots. HW below usually divided into darker inner and lighter outer portion by single zigzagged, dark line. Female normally larger, paler, with bigger eyespots.
Similar Species No other large eastern satyr has 2 large FW eyespots. In West, Great Basin Wood Nymph is smaller and often has darker band within 2 dark lines across HW below.
Life Cycle Egg lemon-yellow, keg-shaped, and ribbed. Caterpillar grass-green, with 4 lengthwise yellow lines, fine fuzzy pile, and 2 reddish tails; overwinters shortly after hatching; feeds on various grasses (Poaceae). Chrysalis green, rather plump.
Flight 1 brood; generally June-August or September, varying with locality.
Habitat Open oak, pine, and other woodlands, meadows, fields, and along slow watercourses with long, overhanging grasses; marshes, prairie groves, thickets, and roadsides.
Range Central Canada to central California, Texas and central Florida. Absent from Pacific Northwest Coast and much of Gulf region.
Discussion The Large Wood Nymph occupies much of NorthAmerica; it is the largest wood nymph and the only one east of the Mississippi. Extremely variable, this butterfly has been given dozens of names. Today, all are considered a single species. As they perch on tree trunks or boughs to bask or drink sap, Large Wood Nymphs blend beautifully with the bark. When disturbed or seeking mates, they fly erratically through tall grasses, with little speed but great skill and endurance. Western wood nymphs visit such flowers as alfalfa and spiraea, while eastern populations seem to favor rotting fruit.
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