Bug FAQRuddy Daggerwing
Marpesia petreus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Red Dagger Wing
The ruddy daggerwing has a wingspan of about 70 to 95 mm. It lives from Brazil through Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, and into southern Florida, with occasional strays farther north. Caterpillars eat figs such as Ficus carica, F. pumila, and F. citrifolia.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 70 to 95 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on fig species including Ficus carica, F. pumila, and F. citrifolia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found from Brazil north through Central America, Mexico, the West Indies, to southern Florida; occasional strays reach Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and southern Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 6 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, New Mexico, Colorado.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marpesia_petreus
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.