Biodiversity Database of Washington DC

Arthropoda: Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Megisto cymela

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Scientific name: Arthropoda: Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Megisto cymela
Common Name: Wood Satyr

Country: USA
State/District: MI
County: Oakland
Date: July 2002

Photographer: J. J. Cravens

Identifier: E. M. Barrows
Collector: E. M. Barrows
Location: Walled Lake
Keywords: A brown butterfly brown insect eyespot
Additional Information:

For more information on Megisto cymela, please use “Megisto” in the search box of this Website’s homepage.

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Click on image to enlarge.

Scientific name: Arthropoda: Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Megisto cymela
Common Name: Wood Satyr

Country: USA
State/District: MI
County: Oakland
Date: July 2002

Photographer: J. J. Cravens

Identifier: E. M. Barrows
Collector: E. M. Barrows
Location: Walled Lake
Keywords: A brown butterfly brown insect eyespot
Additional Information:

For more information on Megisto cymela, please use “Megisto” in the search box of this Website’s homepage.

update template

Click on image to enlarge.

Scientific name: Arthropoda: Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Megisto cymela
Common Name: Little Wood Satyr

Country: USA
State/District: MI
County: Macomb
Date: 28 June 2001

Photographer: E. M. Barrows

Identifier: E. M. Barrows
Collector: not applicable
Location:
Keywords: A brown butterfly brown insect eyespot mating
Additional Information:

Figure 1. A male sunning at about 10 a.m. This is not the same male as the one in the mating pair in the next two figures.

Figure 2. A mating pair which I observed from about 10:00 – 10:40 a.m. The female is perched on a blade of grass, and the male is attached to her by his adomen and is not holding onto the plant with his legs. I found the pair already together, and they remained together for about 40 minutes.

Figure 3. I wanted to get a better photographic view of the pair; so after I took a few photos, I gently touched the female with a grass inflorescence. She flew, carrying her mate. In this image, both the female (above) and male (below) are holding onto a grass blade with their legs.

Figure 4. The male left the female, and she remained on the plant for about a minute. She seemed to be adjusting the position of his spermatophore, which I think is visible inside the end of her abdomen.

Figure 5. Then the female flew to another grass plant and sunned. Her wings are in perfect condition, and this suggests that she emerged as a new adult on the day I took her photograph.

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