''Neonympha mitchellii'' is an endangered species of
nymphalid
The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...
butterfly of the eastern United States.
[ There are two known subspecies:][.]
*''N. m. mitchellii'', the nominate subspecies, commonly called Mitchell's satyr or Mitchell's marsh satyr,Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
.[ The species is presumably ]extirpated
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
from former ranges in Ohio (last seen in the 1950s), New Jersey (last seen in 1988), and Wisconsin.[
*'' N. m. francisci'', commonly called Saint Francis' satyr, is found in a single metapopulation in a 10 × 10 km area of Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Recent discoveries since 1998 of populations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia are being studied for taxonomic classification, and may be grouped with ''N. m. mitchellii'' or be described as new subspecies.][
All subspecies, including those newly discovered, are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.][
Its larvae can feed upon the highly-invasive Japanese stilt grass '']Microstegium vimineum
''Microstegium vimineum'', commonly known as Japanese stiltgrass, packing grass, or Nepalese browntop, is an annual grass that is common in a wide variety of habitats and is well adapted to low light levels.
Despite being non-native in the Unite ...
'', so populations of this butterfly are potentially at risk from efforts to remove stilt grass. A butterfly of similar appearance, the Carolina satyr ('' Hermeuptychia sosybius''), is also able to feed upon stilt grass.
Description
Both subspecies are small brown butterflies with a wingspan rage of 34–44 mm.[
Their eggs are greenish white to cream, becoming tan as they age.][ The larvae's dark head can be seen a day or two before hatching.][ First ]instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ...
larvae, 3–4 mm long, have dark brown bilobed heads, while four subsequent instars, 6–12 mm long, have green bilobed heads, and green bodies with raised white ridges along the sides.[
The chrysalis are 10.5–15.5 mm long, suspended with the head down.][ It is a light lime green, with pale green or white speckling, and turns a medium brown about two days before ]eclosion
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3021145
Butterflies of North America
Neonympha
Butterflies described in 1889
ESA endangered species