Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Goatweed Leafwing
Anaea andria Scudder, 1875


Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Charaxinae
Identification: Underside looks like a dead leaf. Male summer form is dull red with a barely hooked forewing tip, and a short tail on the hindwing. Male winter form is redder with more dark markings, a definitely hooked forewing tip, and a longer tail than the summer form. Both female forms are lighter red and have an irregular yellow submarginal band. The winter female form has hooked forewing tips.
Wing Span: 2 3/8 - 3 1/4 inches (6 - 8.2 cm).
Life History: Flight is swift, strong, and erratic. Males perch in clearings or on ridgetops to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly under host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. A caterpillar changes shelters as it grows: first it perches on a leaf midvein, then lives in the shelter of a folded leaf, and finally rests in a rolled-up leaf. Adults hibernate, then mate in the spring.
Flight: The winter form flies from August-May, the summer form from July-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Goatweed (Croton capitatum), Texas croton (C. texensis), and prairie tea (C. monanthogynus); all in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae).
Adult Food: Sap, rotting fruit, dung, bird droppings.
Habitat: Deciduous woods and scrub, especially along waterways; open fields, roadsides, railroad tracks, and other places.
Range: Eastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado south to New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas; east to Michigan, South Carolina, Virginia, and the Gulf States.
Conservation: Not usually of conservation concern.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Get your BAMONA Gear!

Hoodies and t-shirts in two designs!


Advertise with us!

Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.