An orange and black butterfly with a long snout perching on a green leaf. American Snout Butterfly. Libytheana carinenta.

Wild Facts About The American Snout Butterfly

ByChristine Wild Animals

You’ll Know Them If You See Them

  • American Snout Butterflies are distinctive insects and their common name is apt.
  • Although many other butterfly species have orange, black, and brown wings, American Snouts have something that other common eastern butterfly species don’t—snouts.
  • American Snouts are brush-footed butterflies, along with many other well-known butterfly species.
    • However, this species belongs to a separate subfamily called Libytheinae, otherwise known as “snout butterflies”.
  • The snout on American Snout Butterflies is made up of labial palpia that protrude forward from the butterflies’ heads.
    • Positioned in front of and below the eyes, labial palpia are structures that receive sensations and protect butterflies’ coiled, siphoning probosces.
    • The snout extends approximately four times the length of the head and forms a blunt-tipped triangular shape.
  • This unique feature makes American Snout butterflies very easy to recognize.
Diagram showing the distinctive snout and other markings that identify American Snout Butterflies. Libytheana carinenta.
An American Snout Butterfly Libytheana carinenta Photograph taken and design created by the author Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder All rights reserved

But First You Have To See Them

  • While American Snout Butterflies are unmistakable—and often quite abundant—they are surprisingly difficult to spot in the wild.
  • Many butterflies classified within family Nymphalidae share three characteristics:
    • The upper (dorsal) wing surface is some variation of orange, white, and brown,
    • The under (ventral) wing surface is some variation of mottled brown, tan, and gray,
    • Their wing edges are jagged and uneven (especially their forewings), rather than a smooth or undulating curve.
  • American Snouts’ boldly colored dorsal wings draw attention to these insects when they are in flight.
  • But American Snouts virtually disappear when they perch motionless and with closed wings in trees.
    • The combination of dull, ventral wing coloring and jagged, uneven wing edges camouflage American Snouts very effectively against casual observers.
      • When perched against tree bark, they simply blend in and are difficult to spot.
      • But when dangling underneath tree branches, they look remarkably like dead leaves.
An orange and black butterfly with a long snout perching on a green leaf. American Snout Butterfly. Libytheana carinenta.
An American Snout Butterfly Libytheana carinenta Photograph taken and design created by the author Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder All rights reserved

So How Can You Find American Snout Butterflies?

  • American Snout Butterflies live in the southeastern United States, north to North Carolina.
    • But they are far more abundant in the southwestern part of the United States, so if you see manage to spot one of these butterflies in the eastern part of the country, consider yourself lucky.
      • Look for them in and around thick forests where this species’ larval food plant, Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) grows.
        • They are especially common along streams and in woodland clearings.
      • American Snout Butterflies visit flowers for nectar and often drop to patches of bare ground to “puddle” (sip mineral-rich water from damp soil).
An orange and black butterfly with a long snout perching on a green leaf. American Snout Butterfly. Libytheana carinenta.
An American Snout Butterfly Libytheana carinenta Photograph taken and design created by the author Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder All rights reserved

Look For The Snout

  • Once you spot an orange, black, brown, and white butterfly with dull ventral wings and jagged wings in the wild, make sure you look whether the butterfly has a snout.
  • American Snout Butterflies have similar coloration to several other brush-foot butterflies classified in family Nymphalidae.
An orange and black butterfly with a long snout perching on a green leaf. American Snout Butterfly. Libytheana carinenta.
An American Snout Butterfly Libytheana carinenta Photograph taken and design created by the author Copyright © 2025 Now I Wonder All rights reserved

Scientific Classification

Kingdom

Animalia (animals)

Phylum

Arthropoda (arthropods)

Class

Insecta (insects)

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)

Family

Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies)

Genus

Libytheana

Species

L. carinenta

Scientific Name

Libytheana carinenta

American Snout Butterfly Photo Gallery

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Christine
Christine is the creator and author of NowIWonder.com, a website dedicated to the animals and plants that share our world, and the science that helps us understand them. Inspired by lifelong exploration and learning, Christine loves to share her knowledge with others who want to connect with wild faces and wild spaces.
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