The Butterflies of the World Foundation

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Red Satyr

Megisto rubricata, W. H. Edwards, 1871

Subfamily Satyrinae

Taxonomy

The family Nymphalidae is the largest butterfly family and includes about 6,000 species which are further divided up into 12 subfamilies.  The common name for the family is the Brushfoots or Brushfooted Butterflies.  This strange name is because the first pair of legs are significantly reduced, sometimes to mere stubs, and look like little brushes.  Some of the most common and well known species are in this group such as the Monarch, Red Admiral, Blue Morpho and Painted Lady.  Some of the longest lived butterflies are in this family with some species living over 10 months as adults.  The Brushfoots are distributed worldwide, with the highest diversity found in the tropics.  With this variety, there is also quite a difference in behavior, adult food choices and habitat preference from species to species.

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Megisto rubricata, Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Comanche County, Oklahoma, 6 June 2009                                                                Ref #:  I-419-12.7

Megisto rubricata, Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Comanche County, Oklahoma, 22 May 2007                                                                 Ref #:  I-377-6.3

Megisto rubricata, Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Comanche County, Oklahoma, 22 May 2007                                                                   Ref #:  I-377-3

Megisto rubricata, Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Comanche County, Oklahoma, 22 May 2007                                                                   Ref #:  I-377-7

Megisto rubricata, Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, Comanche County, Oklahoma, 22 May 2007                                                                  Ref #:  I-376-18

General Information:

Megisto rubricata belongs to the subfamily Satyrinae.  This species can be found from Guatemala then north to Arizona, central New Mexico, east Texas and south-central Kansas.  Its preferred habitat includes open mesquite, juniper or oak-pine woodland.

Lifecycle:

The larval food source includes various grasses such as Bermuda grass, Cynodon dactylon, and St. Augustine grass, Stenotaphrum secundatum.  Males patrol in shady areas for females.  Eggs are scattered on dead leaves or near grass blades.  Caterpillars eat grass blades and mature caterpillars hibernate.