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Species Libytheana carinenta - American Snout - Hodges#4411

American Snout - Libytheana carinenta American Snout - Right Ventral - Libytheana carinenta American Snout - Libytheana carinenta American Snout - Libytheana carinenta American snout - Libytheana carinenta Small pale skipper - Libytheana carinenta Unknown butterfly - Libytheana carinenta American Snout - Libytheana carinenta
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Subfamily Libytheinae (Snouts)
Genus Libytheana
Species carinenta (American Snout - Hodges#4411)
Hodges Number
4411
Other Common Names
Snout butterfly, snouts, snout-nosed, snout-nose butterfly, Picuda
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Libytheana carinenta (Cramer, 1777)
Syn: Libytheana bachmanii (Kirtland, 1851)
Snouts are sometimes placed in their own family, Libytheidae, as the larvae lack the spines and horns of most Nymphalidae and the pupae lack the dorsal bumps of most Nymphalinae.
Explanation of Names
"Snout" name due to extended labial palps.
Numbers
About eight species occur throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Size
41-51mm (1)
Identification
Beak-like labial palps. Topside forewing has white spots and orange patches on dark background. Underside violet-gray. (1)

Range
Resident in southern U.S. and Mexico. Periodic to northern U.S. and extreme southern Ontario.
Season
Gilbert's (1985) review of published accounts of snout migrations in south Texas between 1912 and 1980 found that migrations occur from late June to mid-October.
Food
Hackberries (Celtis) and sugarberry. (1)
primarily, Spiny Hackberry ([url=http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Celtis%20ehrenbergiana.png]Celtis ehrenbergiana (=pallida)) across south Texas
Remarks
Only snout butterfly that occurs regularly north of Mexico. (2)
Raymond Neck (1983) was the first to note that snout population size is positively correlated with the intensity and duration of dry periods immediately preceding drought-terminating rains. Larry Gilbert (1985) conducted the most intensive study yet of snout population explosions in south Texas.
Print References
Gilbert, L.E., 1985. Ecological factors which influence migratory behavior in two butterflies of the semi-arid shrublands of South Texas. pp. 724-747 in: Rankin, M.A. editors. Migration: Mechanisms and Adaptive Significance. University of Texas, Port Aransas. (Full PDF)
Neck, R.W., 1983. Causal analysis of a migration of the snout butterfly. Libytheana bachmanii larvata (Strecker) (Libytheidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 37(2):121-128. (Full PDF)
Neck, R.W., 1984. On the origin of snout butterflies (Libytheana bachmanii larvata, Libytheidae) in a 1978 migration in south Texas. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 38(4):319-322. (Full PDF)
Works Cited
1.A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides)
Paul A. Opler, Vichai Malikul, Roger Tory Peterson. 1992. Houghton Mifflin Company.
2.Butterflies and Moths (A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press)
Robert T. Mitchell, Herbert S. Zim, Andre Durenceau. 2001. Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press.
3.North American Moth Photographers Group
4.Butterflies of North America