''Chlosyne janais'', the crimson patch or janais patch, is a common

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

found from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

north through

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, with occasional sightings in southeastern Mexico and northern Texas. The dorsal and ventral wing surface is black with several undulating rows of small white spots on the medial forewings and along all outer wing margins. On each dorsal hindwing is a medial orange-red patch situated anteriorly. The ventral hindwings have a fragmented yellow proximal patch bordered by a thick postmedial band of red that does not reach the wing margins; maximum wingspan is 4.8–6.7 cm. Crimson Patch 6

Adults inhabit the periphery of lowland tropical to subtropical forests, fields, and along streams, where they feed on flower

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

. Reproduction is continuous in the tropics, whereas in temperate areas several broods are produced from July to November. The

caterpillars Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

are grey white to green with several transverse rows of fleshly black spines; they feed primarily on

acanthus Acanthus (: acanthus, rarely acanthuses in English, or acanthi in Latin), its feminine form acantha (plural: acanthae), the Latinised form of the ancient Greek word acanthos or akanthos, or the prefix acantho-, may refer to: Biology *Acanthus ...

shrubs, especially '' Anisacanthus wrightii'' and '' Odontonema callistachus'' (in Texas), upon which adult females lay their

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

. The crimson patch can reach high numbers in the

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

, but the population is periodically killed off by cold snaps; the area is then recolonized by members of the Mexican population. A very similar species is the rosita patch (''C. rosita''), which is distinguished from the crimson patch by the former's lack of spots on the wing margins.

References

*USGS. Butterflies of North America—''Chlosyne janais''. Retrieved September 27, 2005 from https://web.archive.org/web/20051102063936/http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/usa/157.htm *eNature.com. FieldGuides: Crimson Patch. Retrieved September 27, 2005 from https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083020/http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=Janais%20Patch&curGroupID=2&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=1 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2136588 janais Nymphalidae of South America Butterflies of Central America Taxa named by Dru Drury Butterflies described in 1782 Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Mexico