Bug FAQGray Cracker
Hamadryas februa · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The gray cracker (Hamadryas februa) is a butterfly with a wingspan of about 7 to 9 cm. Adults feed on sap and rotting fruit year-round in the tropics, while the caterpillars eat Dalechampia and Tragia plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Hamadryas februa, called the gray cracker, belongs to the Nymphalidae family of butterflies.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan measures between 70 and 86 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits subtropical forests, forest edges, and cultivated areas that have trees.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adult gray crackers feed on tree sap and decaying fruit. The larvae feed on plants in the Dalechampia and Tragia genera.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In tropical regions adults are active all year, while in southern Texas they appear from August to October.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adult activity is year-round in the tropics and limited to August-October in southern Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is found from Argentina northward through tropical America to Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 3 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Florida, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamadryas_februa
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.