Goatweed Leafwing
Anaea andria Scudder, 1875
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Charaxinae
Identification: Underside looks like a dead leaf. Male summer form is dull red with a barely hooked forewing tip, and a short tail on the hindwing. Male winter form is redder with more dark markings, a definitely hooked forewing tip, and a longer tail than the summer form. Both female forms are lighter red and have an irregular yellow submarginal band. The winter female form has hooked forewing tips.
Wing Span: 2 3/8 - 3 1/4 inches (6 - 8.2 cm).
Life History: Flight is swift, strong, and erratic. Males perch in clearings or on ridgetops to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly under host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. A caterpillar changes shelters as it grows: first it perches on a leaf midvein, then lives in the shelter of a folded leaf, and finally rests in a rolled-up leaf. Adults hibernate, then mate in the spring.
Flight: The winter form flies from August-May, the summer form from July-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Goatweed (Croton capitatum), Texas croton (C. texensis), and prairie tea (C. monanthogynus); all in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae).
Adult Food: Sap, rotting fruit, dung, bird droppings.
Habitat: Deciduous woods and scrub, especially along waterways; open fields, roadsides, railroad tracks, and other places.
Range: Eastern Wyoming and eastern Colorado south to New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas; east to Michigan, South Carolina, Virginia, and the Gulf States.
Conservation: Not usually of conservation concern.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 1313 verified sightings
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/goatweed_leafwing_9.jpg?itok=IeNNalDg)
Observation date: Apr 12, 2024
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Grundy County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Apr 16, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/goatweed_leafwing_anaea_andria.jpg?itok=xWnGWkCS)
Observation date: Apr 10, 2024
Submitted by: seemayer
Region: Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Apr 11, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/question_mark_2_11.jpg?itok=xLOX5d2v)
Observation date: Apr 05, 2024
Submitted by: seemayer
Region: Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Apr 11, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240405_174430.jpg?itok=mOTULSj9)
Observation date: Apr 05, 2024
Submitted by: Velmarie
Region: Creek County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: Emily Geest
Verified date: Apr 08, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/goatweed_leafwing_4.7.24.jpg?itok=AIdsf3cG)
Observation date: Apr 07, 2024
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Bowie County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Apr 08, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240328_165908.jpg?itok=r4SAbayL)
Observation date: Mar 28, 2024
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Wichita County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Mar 29, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_0111_11.jpg?itok=Fow7812C)
Observation date: Mar 10, 2024
Submitted by: Ty-Sharrow
Region: Craighead County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 18, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dscn9312.jpeg?itok=h-wjxspV)
Observation date: Mar 11, 2024
Submitted by: TexanTaxa
Region: Bosque County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Mar 13, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/jv-1859.jpg?itok=Ix28SyDI)
Observation date: Oct 25, 2023
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 11, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/red_butterfly_0.jpg?itok=0IPKvpva)
Observation date: Nov 05, 2023
Submitted by: Ghesser
Region: Texas, Tarrant County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Nov 09, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_7752.jpeg?itok=RxcAKnog)
Observation date: Oct 06, 2023
Submitted by: Dobber31
Region: Benton County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 08, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/021a2895.jpg?itok=T-SWUKr2)
Observation date: Apr 17, 2023
Submitted by: hasfitz5
Region: Grant County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: May 30, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/p9010121-goatweed_leafwing.jpg?itok=-ub9DyTo)
Observation date: Sep 01, 2021
Submitted by: Brynne Bryan
Region: Denton County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 18, 2023
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20221207_2021312.jpg?itok=o4JUlAMe)
Observation date: Dec 07, 2022
Submitted by: philsfotos1
Region: Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Dec 08, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/p1022039.jpg?itok=aACcnlWX)
Observation date: Oct 29, 2022
Submitted by: billd
Region: Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 30, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/2acc5459-724d-4730-b472-0a7b4bc8e9fc.jpeg?itok=7Xsqci-t)
Observation date: Oct 14, 2022
Submitted by: Sheilabean
Region: Texas, Tarrant County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 20, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/goatweed_leafwing_7.jpg?itok=PcEWEOL5)
Observation date: Jul 05, 2022
Submitted by: WYbutterflyer1
Region: McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/7c9bcc75-40cc-4b97-a1b0-ef64033c4c4e.jpeg?itok=gEPQGHAC)
Observation date: Feb 26, 2021
Submitted by: Txzinnia
Region: Fort Bend County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 09, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_5199_4x6_adjd_sharp2-80_with_copyright.jpg?itok=FcLoe3AU)
Observation date: Sep 04, 2008
Submitted by: doris potter
Region: Sonora, Mexico
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 01, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/usa_-_goatweed_leafwing_anaea_andria.jpg?itok=WLIQ6Vf-)
Observation date: Aug 04, 2022
Submitted by: Martin Neil UK
Region: Colbert County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 11, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/99046396-8b39-4624-8276-d87f88be3a89.jpeg?itok=psrnqm99)
Observation date: May 10, 2022
Submitted by: RLS
Region: Craighead County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: May 10, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dscn6509.jpg?itok=2NT1gz_g)
Observation date: May 06, 2022
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: May 08, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_7302_2_0.jpg?itok=BmSCjKw9)
Observation date: Apr 26, 2022
Submitted by: jamesvonloh
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: May 06, 2022
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/leafwing_view1.jpg?itok=ApPJpSKl)
Observation date: Apr 22, 2022
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Apr 23, 2022
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