Yellow-tipped Flasher (Astraptes anaphus [Cramer])
Wing span: 2 - 2 1/2 inches (5.1 - 6.4 cm).
Identification: Tailless. Upperside of wings is dark brown with faint black bands. Lower tip of hindwing has wide yellow edging above and below.
Life history: When inactive, adults rest on the upperside (and ocassionally underside) of broad leaves. Caterpillars feed gregariously but each makes a separate leaf shelter.
Flight: April-May and September-November in South Texas; many flights beginning in March in Mexico.
Caterpillar hosts: Vines in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Flower nectar, bird droppings, or dung.
Habitat: Lowland tropical forest or scrub.
Range: Argentina north through Central America to the West Indies and Mexico. Strays to the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
