Cercyonis pegala

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livingplanet3
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Cercyonis pegala

Post by livingplanet3 »

A few weeks ago, I sighted the largest example of Cercyonis pegala (https://bugguide.net/node/view/459) I've ever seen. A quite distinctive butterfly, and the background patterning on the verso is similar to that of some Caligo species -

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58chevy
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by 58chevy »

I haven't seen that species in decades. The so-called "Common Wood Nymph" is anything but common in the Houston area. Where did you see yours? Interesting comparison to the owl butterfly. I never noticed the similarity.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by livingplanet3 »

58chevy wrote: Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:20 pm I haven't seen that species in decades. The so-called "Common Wood Nymph" is anything but common in the Houston area. Where did you see yours?
Just west of DFW. I rarely see them myself, but if I were to set out some fruit baits, they would likely prove to be more abundant than it seems.
58chevy wrote: Tue Nov 08, 2022 11:20 pm Interesting comparison to the owl butterfly. I never noticed the similarity.
They are in fact related, as they're both members of the satyrine clade. The Morphos and Charaxes are also in this group.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by Chuck »

I get C pegala in the back yard. What's rare in some places is common as dirt in other places. I don't bother to collect them.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by jhyatt »

C. pegala is not uncommon, but quite local in the southern Appalachians. Generally if I see one, a bunch more are in the immediate area. The late-season females can be absolutely huge, but only worn, tattered ones ever seem to come to my bait traps.

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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by Trehopr1 »

Here in Illinois I believe this has become a localized species. In all my years I have only known of one prairie haunt that harbored it.

Unfortunately, that very haunt underwent some ecological changes many years ago; so eventually the prairie habitat was overtaken by forest.

I personally have not seen the species in some 40 years.
I would probably have to head up north to our northern counties or south of Joliet Illinois in any hopes of finding it.

As a matter of fact I find all satyrines hard to find because I do not like to collect in areas of marshes or low-lying areas.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by nomihoudai »

There is different subspecies, a lot of them without the beautiful yellow! I knew about this species before my first travel to the US as people sometimes mention it, but not about the color variations. I guess it is not that well collected as most Satyrinae, but it does show up in conversations every now and then.

On my first collecting trip in the US in 2013 I was in central Florida (Gainesville, FL) and I did find a specimen of Cercyonis pegala in February, but it was all brown without the yellow. I was pretty disappointed as I had hoped to see the subspecies shown in the top post.

I did find them another time, that was in June 2020 on a hiking trip in Cedar Hill State Park in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex (that isn't too far from you @58chevy if you ever come across Dallas). As it is a State Park I obviously had no net with me. In Dallas they have the beautiful yellow.

Take a look at this absolutely blurry picture I took with my phone:
315117230_607479487839981_8824865277179277628_n.jpg
315117230_607479487839981_8824865277179277628_n.jpg (169.72 KiB) Viewed 1511 times
Lepidoptera distribution maps: lepimap.click
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by Chuck »

nomihoudai wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 8:30 am There is different subspecies, a lot of them without the beautiful yellow!
This jogged my memory to add: at least in NE USA, the species is also quite variable. Particularly in the amount of "yellow" and the size of the eyespots. At the extremes, one could get two specimens from the same population and think they are different species. When an individual is encountered with lots of yellow and large eyespots it's readily (obviously) visible even when it's flying- in other words, an "impressive" pegala really stands out from the others, even when in flight.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by jhyatt »

Chuck wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:01 pm
nomihoudai wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 8:30 am There is different subspecies, a lot of them without the beautiful yellow!
This jogged my memory to add: at least in NE USA, the species is also quite variable. Particularly in the amount of "yellow" and the size of the eyespots. At the extremes, one could get two specimens from the same population and think they are different species. When an individual is encountered with lots of yellow and large eyespots it's readily (obviously) visible even when it's flying- in other words, an "impressive" pegala really stands out from the others, even when in flight.
And along the SE coast of the US, there are occasional specimens with the full yellow area, but only one eyespot.

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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by Paul K »

I collected in Canada 3 subspecies of C.pegala but none of them have yellow/orange area on the forewings.
They are all simply brown with sometime females a little lighter in the area where eye spots are.
C.pegala nephele is common in southern Ontario
C.pegala ariane inhabits Rocky Mountains in Alberta and is quite common there also
C.pegala ino can be found also in Alberta but in low altitude for example even at meadows in the city of Calgary.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by eurytides »

I have only collected ssp nephele and I concur with Paul. They are also dirt common where I live.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by vabrou »

Here in Louisiana, this species is difficult to near impossible to capture by net in woodland areas. But using fermenting fruit bait traps, many can be easily captured daily when the two annual broods occur here. Here is a little species account I published about this species in Louisiana about 30 years ago illustrating the phenogram here. Also images of two of many drawers of spread specimens we have.
Attachments
1993. 24. Voltinism of Cercyonis pegala abbotti F. M. Brown in Louisiana. cr.jpg
1993. 24. Voltinism of Cercyonis pegala abbotti F. M. Brown in Louisiana. cr.jpg (528.17 KiB) Viewed 1175 times
DSCF0033 35%.jpg
DSCF0033 35%.jpg (316.03 KiB) Viewed 1175 times
DSCF0026 35%.jpg
DSCF0026 35%.jpg (327.56 KiB) Viewed 1175 times
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by 58chevy »

Wow, those are impressive drawers of pegala.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by jhyatt »

C. pegala abbottii is the "one-eyed" form I mentioned in my Nov. 10 post above. Looks as if it is more predominant in Louisiana than on
the SC/GA coast, where I've only occasionally gotten it among a host of more common 2-eyed specimens.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by Chuck »

vabrou wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:04 pm Here in Louisiana, this species is difficult to near impossible to capture by net in woodland areas.
Interesting..."in woodland"??

In Upstate NY, pegala flies along the edges of woodlands, not in the forest. They are common in grasslands bordered by forest, and are very easily captured. I could take a dozen a day in my back yard, which is bordered by forest; I could catch fifty a day in my field work, even half-heartedly.

Now, Lethe (sp. unknown) is another story. I hate trying to catch those things, which I had to do for a cultural center this past summer. They typically are found (at least here) in young secondary growth, skinny trees, with lots of deadfall and face-height sticks. I get close to them, and they take off, landing on a tree three meters away...repeat and repeat.
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by jhyatt »

Chuck wrote: Thu Dec 29, 2022 2:39 pm Now, Lethe (sp. unknown) is another story. I hate trying to catch those things, which I had to do for a cultural center this past summer. They typically are found (at least here) in young secondary growth, skinny trees, with lots of deadfall and face-height sticks. I get close to them, and they take off, landing on a tree three meters away...repeat and repeat.
Chuck,

Lethe (like pegala) are easily caught in bait traps. I've taken the 3 local southern Appalachian species (anthedon, appalachia, and creola) at bait in some very unlikely spots. Never see them flying there, but the bait traps catches them... sometimes very early in the morning.

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Last edited by adamcotton on Thu Dec 29, 2022 9:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: formatting quote
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by vabrou »

Regarding Enodia (Lethe) in Louisiana, we have taken a small series of Satyrodes appalachia in fermenting fruit bait traps. And in 2013 we published the attached about the three species we have in our state. Here at our home where Arundanaria 'bamboo' is very abundant E. portlandia missarkae is very common. We no doubt captured about 2000+ adults of this particular species here at our home. We discovered this species E. p. missarkae has six annual broods at about 45-day intervals here at our home
Attachments
2013. 258. The Enodia Hübner (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) of Louisiana._Page_2.jpg
2013. 258. The Enodia Hübner (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) of Louisiana._Page_2.jpg (262.65 KiB) Viewed 1120 times
2013. 258. The Enodia Hübner (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) of Louisiana._Page_1.jpg
2013. 258. The Enodia Hübner (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) of Louisiana._Page_1.jpg (261.76 KiB) Viewed 1120 times
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Re: Cercyonis pegala

Post by vabrou »

Here is one of several drawers I have of Enodia portlandia missarkae from here at my home. Easily captured using fermenting fruit bait traps.
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DSCF0048 red.jpg
DSCF0048 red.jpg (685.8 KiB) Viewed 1119 times
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