ENY 3005 Family Identification

Lepidoptera: Satyridae

Common names: wood nymphs, satyrs

Identifying characteristics for the family Satyridae include:

• Front legs reduced.
  
• Usually grayish or brownish, often with eyespots on wings.
  
• Subcostal vein swollen near base of front wing; no other family has this characteristic!
  
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• Adults inhabit woodlands, flying low and fast.
  

References:

• Pages 226-227 and plate 9 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 277-278 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
  
• Page 206 and plates 11, 36-38 in P. A. Opler. 1992. A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 396 p.
  
• Page 644 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
  
• E. J. Gerberg and R. H. Arnett, Jr. 1989. Florida Butterflies [and Skippers]. Baltimore: Natural Science Publications. 90 p.
  
• Page 552 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.