Diet

• Caterpillars feed almost exclusively on hackberries (Celtis spp.), in the hemp family (Cannabaceae).

• Eggs are laid on young leaves or in leaf axils, and the caterpillars feed primarily on tender new foliage.

• Adults visit a wide variety of flowers for nectar and also obtain water and minerals from damp ground.

Range

• Libytheana carinenta has an exceptionally broad range extending from Argentina north through South and Central America, Mexico and the West Indies to the southern United States.

• It occurs in Guerrero and the Zihua area, where hackberry trees and warm, open woodland provide suitable habitat.

Habitat

• The American Snout favours forest edges, clearings, thornscrub, brushy fields, roadsides and other open or semi-open habitats where Celtis grows.

• It can be particularly abundant in areas where hackberries are common, including disturbed woodland and regenerating vegetation.

• Adults frequently perch on twigs and branches with their wings closed, where their dead-leaf appearance makes them remarkably difficult to spot.

Description

• The American Snout is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of approximately 35–50 mm.

• Its most distinctive feature is the pair of greatly elongated labial palps projecting from the front of the head, giving the butterfly its characteristic "snout".

• The upper wings are predominantly brown, with orange-brown markings at the forewing base and inner margin and several small white spots toward the outer portion of the forewing.

• The underside is mottled grey-brown to violet-grey and closely resembles a dead leaf.

• When perched, the butterfly folds its wings, points its antennae and elongated palps downward, and effectively extends the illusion of a leaf petiole.