Mitchell's Satyr
Neonympha mitchellii
Description 1 1/2-1 3/4" (38-44 mm). Wings rounded. Above, mahogany-brown or darker brown, sometimes with eyespots from below vaguely showing through. Below, dull brown crossed by dark orange-brown lines; 4 submarginal eyespots on FW and 5-6 on HW have yellow rims and bluish-silver or purplish-brown centers; eyespots are round or slightly oval (but not narrow and elongated); largest HW eyespots usually 3rd and 4th. Beyond eyespot row, at wing margins, are 2 reddish to orange lines, separated by a gray line.
Endangered Status Two subspecies of the Mitchell's Satyr are on the U.S.
Endangered Species List. The northeastern subspecies, also called Mitchell's Satyr, is classified as endangered in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio; and the Saint Francis' Satyr subspecies is classified as endangered in North Carolina. The scarcity of their habitat and the loss of populations to rare butterfly collectors contributed to the decline of both these subspecies.
Similar Species Little Wood Satyr has eyespots above; below, 2nd and 5th HW eyespots are largest. Georgia Satyr has long, narrow oval eyespots.
Life Cycle Egg pale green, globe-shaped. Caterpillar lime-green with contrasting stripes, fine, white, raised stippling all over, and 2 fleshy horns extending at rear.
Host plants probably sedges (Carex), possibly grasses and rushes. Chrysalis lime-green, rounded over back with large bump protruding from back of head, small horns at front.
Flight 1 brood during 2 week period; normally first 2 weeks of July, may be advanced or delayed depending upon weather. North Carolina subspecies has two broods per year.
Habitat In northern part of range, tamarack bogs with poison sumac, adjacent wet meadows, and slightly drier meadows. In North Carolina, wet meadows in sandhills.
Range Historically, S. Michigan, N. Indiana, N. Ohio, N. New Jersey, and North Carolina.
Discussion The northeastern subspecies, discovered in Michigan in the 1880's, has one of the most restricted ranges in North America. The special kinds of bogs it requires have largely been eliminated by agriculture and urban development. Although there have been populations in both New Jersey and Ohio, the species has never been found in intervening Pennsylvania. The North Carolina subspecies, Sant Francis' Satyr, was discovered fairly recently and is not well documented. Male Mitchell's Satyrs fly for a week or 10 days before the females make their appearance. Fragile and lightly scaled, these butterflies quickly lose their rich brown coloring. Mitchell's Satyrs are characterized by their bobbing flight pattern, unlike the stronger flight of the Little Wood Satyrs and Eyed Browns with which they may occur.
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