American Snout
Libytheana carinenta
Size:
Wingspan is 1 5/8 - 1 7/8 inches.
Similar Species:
None.
Habitat:
Open woodlands and streams with hackberries and thickets.
Range/Abundance:
Fairly common in the coastal plain and eastern
piedmont. Uncommon to rare in the mountains. This is a southern species
that migrates into the mountains where colonies are not able to overwinter.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from early March until mid November in two broods with a gap
between broods. It is possible to see one on warm days even during winter
in the southern portions of the region.
Larval Host Plants:
Hackberries including Common Hackberry Celtis occidentalis,
Dwarf Hackberry C. tenuifolia
Comments:
These erratic fliers can usually be found puddling along streams and roadsides.
The long snout (palps) makes the identification easy.
In the west American Snouts can
be seen by the thousands, yet in the east they tend to be seen singularly
or in small numbers.
The top and bottom photos were taken along Brickhouse
Road in Granville Co., NC on November 24, 2002. The second photo was taken
at Raven Rock State Park in Harnett Co., NC on March 22, 2003.
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