Bug FAQMexican Bluewing
Myscelia ethusa · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The Mexican bluewing is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It lives from Colombia through Central America to Mexico, with occasional strays reaching southern Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Myscelia ethusa, called the Mexican bluewing, belongs to the butterfly family Nymphalidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan ranges from 64 to 76 mm, roughly 2.5 to 3 inches.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on plants of the Dalechampia genus, while adults sip rotting fruit.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species can produce several generations each year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range extends from Colombia through Central America up to Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myscelia_ethusa
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.