Jul 18, 2011
From late June to early August the Common Wood Nymph (Cereyonis pegala) butterfly flits over the dry understory of the oak woodlands. Males search for females with a dipping flight pattern over the ground-layer vegetation, usually in areas of dappled sunlight and shadows. The females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves, but when the caterpillars hatch they hibernate until spring instead of feeding. California Oatgrass of the genus Danthonia is one of the local host plants.
This butterfly of the family Nymphalidae is widespread throughout the United States and southern Canada, and the spots on the wings can be quite variable. This photographed-one from the UC Hopland Research & Extension Center is probably of the subspecies C.p.ariane.
