Common Wood-Nymph
Cercyonis pegala (Fabricius, 1775)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Satyrinae
Identification: Geographically variable. Wings are brown. Upperside of forewing has 2 large yellow-ringed eyespots. Lowerside of hindwing has a variable number of small eyespots. Southern and coastal butterflies are larger and have a yellow or yellow-orange patch on the outer part of the forewing. Inland butterflies are smaller and have the yellow forewing patch reduced or absent.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 3 inches (4.5 - 7.6 cm).
Life History: Males patrol for females with a dipping flight through the vegetation. In late summer, females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves. Caterpillars hatch but do not feed, instead hibernating until spring.
Flight: One brood from late May-October. Females emerge later than males.
Caterpillar Hosts: Purpletop (Tridens flavus) and other grasses.
Adult Food: Rotting fruit, flower nectar.
Habitat: Large, sunny, grassy areas including prairies, open meadows, bogs, and old fields.
Range: Southern Canada and the continental United States except for most of the Southwest and Texas, southern peninsular Florida, and northern Maine.
Conservation: Isolated populations in Great Basin wetlands may be of 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.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 7950 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 06, 2021
Submitted by: flyinganvil
Region: Benton County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jan 02, 2023
Observation date: Aug 07, 2022
Submitted by: NikkiM
Region: Carbon County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jan 02, 2023
Observation date: Aug 25, 2022
Submitted by: lisagorn
Region: Otsego County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Dec 02, 2022
Observation date: Jul 31, 2022
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 23, 2022
Observation date: Sep 01, 2022
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
Observation date: Oct 01, 2022
Submitted by: billd
Region: Blaine County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 06, 2022
Observation date: Sep 16, 2022
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Oct 03, 2022
Observation date: Aug 25, 2022
Submitted by: Team-Chick
Region: Newport News, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Sep 27, 2022
Observation date: Sep 01, 2019
Submitted by: LonnieMiller
Region: Henry County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 24, 2022
Observation date: Jul 06, 2018
Submitted by: J Rachwalski
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 23, 2022
Observation date: Aug 03, 2018
Submitted by: Actiaslunabelle
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 23, 2022
Observation date: Jul 03, 2019
Submitted by: Claude Rioux
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 14, 2022
Observation date: Aug 04, 2019
Submitted by: Liz Osborn
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Jul 28, 2019
Submitted by: Liz Osborn
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 12, 2019
Submitted by: Aat
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 15, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Boone County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Sep 10, 2022
Observation date: Jul 12, 2022
Submitted by: dbryant562
Region: Summit County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 09, 2022
Observation date: Jul 23, 1970
Submitted by: one72guy
Region: Saskatchewan, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 07, 2022
Observation date: Sep 03, 2022
Submitted by: J. Trapnell
Region: Georgia, United States, Walker County
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 06, 2022
Observation date: Aug 15, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Douglas County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 05, 2022
Observation date: Jul 06, 2021
Submitted by: Pheasantboy77
Region: Crawford County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 02, 2022
Observation date: Aug 26, 2022
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Aug 31, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 30, 2022
Observation date: Jul 05, 2022
Submitted by: Kzfisherman
Region: Wexford County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 30, 2022
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