Elf (Microtia elva H. Bates)
Wing span: 1 - 1 7/16 inches (2.5 - 3.7 cm).
Identification: Forewings elongated and rounded. Wings are black; forewing with two large yellow-orange patches; hindwing with one patch.
Life history: Males patrol all day with a slow flight.
Flight: Late July in South Texas, throughout the year in the tropics.
Caterpillar hosts: Not reported.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open fields in seasonal lowland tropics.
Range: Venezuela north through Central America and Mexico. Rare stray to eastern Missouri, South Texas, and southern Arizona.
