Southern Dogface

Fascinating facts about the Southern Dogface

• Zerene cesonia, the southern dogface, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae (until recently the species was sometimes placed in the related genus Colias instead of Zerene). Its scientific name is Zerene cesonia.
• Males are also fond of puddling and patrol areas for females, acting as the active flight partner during courtship. The green-white eggs are laid on the underside of the host plant leaves, the larva is green with a white stripe running down each side of its body, and the green chrysalis hangs upright with a silken girdle around itself.
• The upper side of the pointed forewings have a dogface pattern, while the wings are mainly yellow with black borders. On the underside the wings stay mostly yellow but show a black eyespot on the forewing and two white spots on the hindwing.
• This butterfly can be found in short-grass prairie hills, open woodlands, and near road edges, where both male and female southern dogfaces may be seen feeding at flowers such as alfalfa, Coreopsis species, Houstonia species, and Verbena species.
• Its host plants include the leadplant Amorpha canescens, false indigo Amorpha fruticosa, soybean Glycine max, alfalfa Medicago sativa, black dalea Dalea frutescens, purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea, and clover Trifolium species.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Southern Dogface

As the Southern Dogface butterfly dances through the sun-drenched meadows, its delicate wings beat in a hypnotic rhythm, leaving trails of iridescent blue and yellow in its wake. With an effortless elegance, it flits from flower to flower, sipping nectar and spreading pollen, its very existence a testament to the intricate web of life that binds this ecosystem together. In its gentle, floating motion, the Southern Dogface embodies the carefree spirit of a warm summer day, its beauty a reminder of the simple joys that can be found in the natural world.

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