Fatal Metalmark

About the Fatal Metalmark

The Fatal Metalmark is a small, easily overlooked butterfly with a memorable name. The wings are mottled rusty brown to dark chocolate, crossed by rows of tiny metallic silver flecks - the "metal marks" of the family - and are held flat, moth-like, when the butterfly perches.

Metalmarks perch on the undersides of leaves and on flower heads, often upside down, and fly in short, quick bursts close to the ground. The caterpillars of this species feed mainly on seepwillow (Baccharis) and related shrubs along washes and field edges.

In Texas the Fatal Metalmark flies in multiple broods from spring through fall across the southern and western parts of the state, wherever its brushy host plants grow. The dramatic name has no dark story behind it - early collectors simply reached for Latin epithets, and nemesis stuck.