Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

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Santa Barbara Field Guides - Butterflies
Lepidoptera
   Nymphalidae

     Libytheana carinenta
     American Snout


upperside
underside

Size: wingspread 1.5-1.75 in.
Recognition: Dark with white spots around FW tips and orange markings near body in mid-wing; very distinct and unique pointed "nose".
Flight period: Flies during the summer, but in southern California strays are mostly taken in the fall.
Hostplants: Hackberry species, such as Celtis douglasii (Ulmaceae) and sugarberry are used as hostplants.
Habitat: This Snout is found in fields, moist woodland, around watercourses and foothill areas.
Distribution: The American Snout is a permanent resident of Mexico and parts of southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, but it is a migrant through much of southern U.S. It is a stray in southern California and is very rare in Santa Barbara County.
Other: The American Snout is the only species in its subfamily, Libytheinae (part of the bigger family Nymphalidae), found in North America.

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