Marpesia petreus are found in Brazil north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to southern Florida.
   Strays are found as far north as Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and southern Texas.
   Their preferred terrain is tropical lowland forests and edges and hardwood hammocks.  
  They are most commonly seen on wing from May – July,
although there are multiple generations each year which make it possible to find adults year round, with the highest populations found during the warm seasons.
   Males and females tend to spend most of their time in the forest canopy unless they are nectaring or puddling.       After mating, females lay their pale yellow eggs individually on the host plants.
   When the larvae are not feeding they can often be found resting on the upper side of the host plant leaves.
   The tip of the Ruddy Daggerwing forewing is elongated. Their hindwing has long dagger-like tails.
   The dorsal side is orange with 3 thin black lines.
   The ventral side is mottled brown and black, resembling a dead leaf.
   They are quite easy to identify, with their flaming orange coloration and unusual daggerlike tail. 
   To distract predators they have what looks like a false head along the abdomen side of their wings which is formed by the nub at the end of its hind wing and the long sword like tail.
   This false head could save the butterfly’s life if a predator strikes the false head instead of the true head.
   * As members of the Brush Footed (Nymphalidae) family, they use their pair of shorter front legs for food tasting, and their two pairs of longer rear legs for propulsion.