Lethe anthedon

Lethe anthedon, the northern pearly-eye, is a species of butterfly of the subfamily Satyrinae in the family Nymphalidae.^[3][4][5][6] It is found in North America,^[4][7] from central Saskatchewan and eastern Nebraska east to Nova Scotia, south to central Alabama and Mississippi.^[8]

Lethe anthedon
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Lethe
Species:	L. anthedon
Binomial name
Lethe anthedon (A. Clark, 1936)[2]
Synonyms
Enodia anthedon (A. Clark, 1936)

The MONA or Hodges number for Lethe anthedon is 4568.1.^[6][9]

Description

The wingspan is 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches (43–67 mm.)^[8][10] The upperside is brown with dark eyespots and the underside is brown. Adults feed on dung, fungi, carrion and sap from willows, poplars, and birches.

The larvae feed on various grasses, including Leersia virginica, Erianthus species, Muhlenbergia species, bearded shortgrass (Brachyelytrum erectum), Chasmanthium latifolium, bottlebrush grass (Hystrix patula), and false melic grass (Schizachne purpurascens).^[10] The host plants of a northern population include sedges (Carex species).^[11]

The species overwinters in the larval stage.

Gallery

• 
  Northern Pearly-eye in Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Woodbridge, Virginia
• 
  Dorsal view
• 
  Ventral view
• 
  Larva

Subspecies

• Lethe anthedon anthedon (A. Clark, 1936)
• Lethe anthedon borealis (A. Clark, 1936)

Similar species

• Satyrodes appalachia / Lethe appalachia (R. L. Chermock, 1947) – Appalachian brown
• Satyrodes eurydice [Lethe eurydice] (Linnaeus, 1763) – eyed brown