Nymphalidae : Biblidinae
Eunica monima (Cramer, 1782)
Dingy Purplewing
Eunica monima (Cramer, 1782)
Dingy Purplewing
Description and Similar Species: Wingspan 38-56mm. Sexes similar but there is considerable variation amongst individuals with some having no purple sheen and others lacking white spots. Care is needed to distinguish from Florida Purplewing Eunica tatila which is on average slightly larger (but there is great overlap) and which has a curved row of six circular eyespots across the centre under-hindwing whereas E. monima has just four with the anterior two merged into one oval shape.
Range: Found from Southern USA to northern South America and several of the Caribbean islands including Cuba and Hispaniola.
Status: Local but is strongly migratory so is occasionally seen in large numbers presumably as a result of immigration.
Nectar Plants: Lantana but also feeds on damp ground, dung and rotten fruit.
Larval Foodplants: Bursera simaruba and Zanthoxylum pentamon.
Range: Found from Southern USA to northern South America and several of the Caribbean islands including Cuba and Hispaniola.
Status: Local but is strongly migratory so is occasionally seen in large numbers presumably as a result of immigration.
Nectar Plants: Lantana but also feeds on damp ground, dung and rotten fruit.
Larval Foodplants: Bursera simaruba and Zanthoxylum pentamon.
Larva
Pupa
Foodplants and Habitat
