Satyrinae

noun

The Satyrinae are medium-sized species of the Family Nymphalidae. Members of this worldwide group are most often brown with one or more marginal eyespots. Males often have visible patches of specialized scales on the fore- or hindwings. Adults have short proboscises and rarely visit flowers, feeding instead on rotting fruit, animal droppings, or sap flows. Nearly all species feed on grasses and grasslike plants, including bamboos, rushes, and sedges. Adults usually perch with their wings closed, but open them wide when basking early in the morning or during cloudy weather. Most species have local colonies and are not migratory. Males patrol when searching for mates, flying in characteristic slow, skipping flight. Eggs are laid singly on the host leaves or stems, and caterpillars feed within shelters of several leaves sewn together with silk. Development from egg to adult can take two years in arctic and alpine species, and it is synchronized in some species. In those species, adult butterflies are only found every other year. Satyrinae typically overwinter as partially grown caterpillars.