Mexican Mellana (Mellana eulogius [Plötz])
Wing span: 1 1/16 - 1 1/4 inches (2.7 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Male: Wings are yellow-orange; upperside of forewing has a brown-black border and a dark brown streak from the cell to the border; no stigma. Underside is tan-orange with a faint pale band of spots. Female: Upperside is dark brown with clear spots on forewing and no spots on the hindwing.
Life history: Not reported.
Flight: April-November in South Texas; all year in Mexico and Central America.
Caterpillar hosts: Not reported.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Openings in subtropical thorn forest.
Range: Paraguay north through Central America to northern Mexico. A periodic stray to the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
