#butteflies

Me: I get butterflies when I see you

Ben: Awww, thanks Bevvie! Me too! I mean, I do too.

Me: Yeah no literally

Ben: What

Me:

American Snout Butterfly (Libytheana carinenta)

Distribution: Found from Argentina to the southern USA, including Mexico and the West Indies. Migrates to the eastern USA, as far north as the Great Lakes region, as well as to central California, southern Nevada and Colorado.

Habitat: Usually found in forest clearings and edges, brushy fields, thorn scrub and roadsides.

Diet: Adults feed on nectar; common hosts include dogbane, aster, dogwood, goldenrod, sweet pepperbrush, etc, with a preference for white or yellow flowers. Larvae feed on the young foliage of hackberry trees, especially the common hackberry tree.

Description: The American snout butterfly's nose is actually its mouthparts, called labial palps. These elongated mouthparts are used in camouflage, as the butterfly will rest with its head pointed downwards, its snout imitating the petiole of a dead leaf.

These butterflies are migratory. Their native range includes the majority of South and Central America, as well as the southern USA; they travel northwards, sometimes in such large numbers that they darken the sky. These migrations are thought to be triggered by droughts, which pose dangers for the butterflies in the form of parasitoids and limited food sources. Inversely, the presence of heavy rain usually prompts a large amount of egg-laying, causing populations explosions.