The Southern Dogface Butterfly

(Zerene cesonia)​

This work is being conducted in conjunction with Dr. Brian Counterman and members of his lab.  This butterfly is a relatively common member of the butterfly community in the Black Belt Prairie (BBP) of Mississippi and Alabama.  Relatively little is known about the natural history and ecology of this species and preliminary work suggests that even reports on host use may be incomplete.  Our current goal is to assay oviposition preferences among larval host species in the BBP and to eventually examine the role of variation in adult food plant quality on fitness.