Geographic Range
Megisto cymela
, commonly known as little wood satyrs, is a Nearctic species of butterfly. They are
mainly found in the eastern half of North America. Their range stretches from southern
Canada and Nebraska south to Florida and Texas. It is common to abundant throughout
its range.
Habitat
Little wood satyrs live in forests and shrubby locations. They prefer deciduous forests
and wet meadows surrounded by trees.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
Physical Description
Adults are greyish brown in color. They have black eyespots that are ringed in yellow
on both sides of their wings. The uppersides of their wings have two eyespots, the
undersides of the forewings have two large eyespots, and the undersides of the hindwings
have two large spots and many smaller spots. Little wood satyrs have wingspans ranging
from 29 mm to 48 mm.
The two subspecies of little wood satyrs vary in appearance. The subspecies
Megisto cymela viola
is brighter in color than the subspecies
Megisto cymela cymela
.
Megisto cymela viola
has an almost violet coloring.
Larvae are greenish-brown in color. They have a dark stripe down their back; they
have brown and yellow horizontal stripes. Larvae of little wood satyrs are bumpy in
appearance and have reddish-brown hairs. Their heads are a dull white color and their
lower end is greyish.
Carolina satyrs
and
red satyrs
look very similar to little wood satyrs.
Carolina satyrs
lacks eye spots on their uppersides. They have one large eyespot on the underside
of their forewings, unlike the two or more seen on little wood satyrs.
Red satyrs
have one large eyespot on the upper side of their wings and one large eyespot on
the lower part of the front wings. They have a reddish color.
Development
Eggs are laid individually on grass blades. After hatching, larvae pass through instars
of development. Larvae overwinter in their fourth instar of development. Like other
butterflies, little wood satyrs undergo metamorphosis to become adults. They pupate
and then emerge as adults.
- Development - Life Cycle
- metamorphosis
Reproduction
Little wood satyrs utilize sexual reproduction and lay eggs.
- Key Reproductive Features
- seasonal breeding
- sexual
- oviparous
Little wood satyrs do not care for their young.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
Lifespan/Longevity
Adult little wood satyrs are active from May to July. In the northernmost parts of
their range, they produce one generation per year. In the southernmost parts of their
range, they may produce three or four generations.
Behavior
Little wood satyrs fly close to the ground. Their flight is slow, but they are able
to avoid capture by twisting through tall grasses and shrubs.
Communication and Perception
Little wood satyrs have compound eyes. Like other butterflies, they are able to see
ultraviolet light. Their antennae are sensory organs; they allow the butterflies to
sense odors, touch, and possibly sound. They have taste receptors in their mouths
and on the bottoms of their feet. Butterflies are able to perceive sound, though they
do not have a special organ dedicated to this sense as moths do.
- Other Communication Modes
- pheromones
Food Habits
Adults feed on nectar and sap. Larvae feed on grasses like
orchardgrass
,
Kentucky bluegrass
, and
centipede grass
.
- Primary Diet
-
herbivore
- folivore
- nectarivore
- eats sap or other plant foods
Predation
Little wood satyrs have large eyespots that may confuse and deter predators.
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- aposematic
- cryptic
Ecosystem Roles
While feeding on nectar and sap, adult butterflies may pollinate plants. They pick
up pollen and transfer it between plants while gathering food. However, adults rarely
feed on nectar.
- Ecosystem Impact
- pollinates
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Little wood satyrs have no known positive economic importance to humans.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Little wood satyrs have no known negative economic importance to humans.
Conservation Status
Other Comments
Papilio cymela Cramer 1777
Euptychia cymela Cramer 1779
Additional Links
Contributors
Deena Hauze (author), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- metamorphosis
-
A large change in the shape or structure of an animal that happens as the animal grows. In insects, "incomplete metamorphosis" is when young animals are similar to adults and change gradually into the adult form, and "complete metamorphosis" is when there is a profound change between larval and adult forms. Butterflies have complete metamorphosis, grasshoppers have incomplete metamorphosis.
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- pheromones
-
chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- aposematic
-
having coloration that serves a protective function for the animal, usually used to refer to animals with colors that warn predators of their toxicity. For example: animals with bright red or yellow coloration are often toxic or distasteful.
- cryptic
-
having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
- nectarivore
-
an animal that mainly eats nectar from flowers
References
Bartlett, T. 2004. "Species Megisto cymela - Little Wood Satyr" (On-line). Bug Guide. Accessed August 02, 2020 at https://bugguide.net/node/view/474 .
Holl, K. 1995. Nectar Resources and Their Influence on Butterfly Communities on Reclaimed Coal Surface Mines. Restoration Ecology , 3(2). Accessed August 02, 2020 at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.1995.tb00080.x .
Klots, A. 1951. A field guide to the butterflies of North America, east of the Great Plains . Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Accessed August 02, 2020 at https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetobutt00alex/page/64/mode/2up .
MarĂn, M. 2019. "An overview of the Euptychiina (Satyrinae) diversity" (On-line). Congreso Sociedad Colombiana de EntomologĂa, Memorias & ResĂşmenes. 46 Congreso Socolen, MedellĂn. Accessed August 02, 2020 at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jose_Schlickmann_Tank/publication/334645443_Efecto_de_la_fertilizacion_sobre_la_poblacion_de_Melanaphis_sacchari_Zehntner_Hemiptera_Aphididae_en_sorgo/links/5d37f43ba6fdcc370a5a3cb6/Efecto-de-la-fertilizacion-sobre-la-poblacion-de-Melanaphis-sacchari-Zehntner-Hemiptera-Aphididae-en-sorgo.pdf#page=76 .
Wernert, S. 1998. Reader's Digest North American Wildlife . New York: Readers Digest.