Insects · La Saladita, Guerrero

Elf Butterfly

Microtia elva

Spanish: Mariposa Duende

Microtia is a monophyletic genus of butterflies from southern United States and Central America in the family Nymphalidae. It contains the single species Microtia elva, the elf. Larvae of this species feed on Tetramerium and other species in the family Acanthaceae.

TaxonomyInsecta › Lepidoptera › Nymphalidae

Local records41 research-grade observations within about 50 km of La Saladita (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones)

Global records3,175 on iNaturalist

Most recent records2024 – 2026

Months of the 8 most recent records

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Recent local sightings

2026-07-08 — observation by mora17918
2026-01-01 — observation by yeseniavega
2025-08-01 — observation by aura_maria7
2025-07-23 — observation by alex_nava_hernandez
2025-07-19 — observation by olgajudith
2025-04-16 — observation by lizvazquez

Interactive card with more photos, sounds and similar species Insects guide iNaturalist Wikipedia

Cite as: “Elf Butterfly (Microtia elva) at La Saladita”, La Saladita Field Guide, lasaladita.com/species/microtia-elva/, updated 2026-09-26. Observation counts and months come from iNaturalist research-grade records within about 50 km of 17.8375°N, 101.7606°W (the survey box also takes in Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa and Troncones); summary text from Wikipedia where present.