Wild Indigo Duskywing
Erynnis baptisiae (Forbes, 1936)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Pyrginae
Identification: Upperside of forewing is dark on the basal half and lighter on the outer half, with a distinct orange-brown patch at the end of the cell. Male has a costal fold containing yellow scent scales; female has a patch of scent scales on the 7th abdominal segment.
Wing Span: 1 3/8 - 1 5/8 inches (3/5 - 4.1 cm).
Life History: Males perch in open areas on low shrubs to wait for females. Eggs are deposited singly on the host plant. Fully-grown caterpillars from the second brood hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from late April to early June and from July to August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Usually wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria), but also others including wild blue indigo (B. australis), lupine (Lupinus perennis), false lupine (Thermopsis villosa), and crown vetch (Coronilla varia).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of blackberry, white sweet clover, dogbane, sunflower, crimson clover, and probably others.
Habitat: Open woods and barrens for native hosts. Highways, railroad beds, and upland fields for the introduced crown vetch.
Range: Southern New England and southern Ontario west to central Nebraska; south to Georgia, the Gulf Coast, and southcentral Texas. The Wild Indigo duskywing is rapidly expanding its range and abundance by colonizing plantings of crown vetch along roadways and railroad beds. Comments: The Columbine, Wild Indigo, and Persius dusky wings belong to the "Persius complex," a confusing group of very similar butterflies.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 385 - 408 of 3021 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 09, 2019
Submitted by: kzelez
Region: Summit County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 23, 2019
Observation date: Sep 22, 2019
Submitted by: Craig William
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 22, 2019
Observation date: Sep 17, 2019
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Kent County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 19, 2019
Observation date: Sep 11, 2019
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Ingham County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 19, 2019
Observation date: Aug 21, 2019
Submitted by: rglitchfield707
Region: Delaware County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 06, 2019
Observation date: Aug 10, 2019
Submitted by: rglitchfield707
Region: Delaware County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 06, 2019
Observation date: Sep 04, 2019
Submitted by: Eddie Wyatt
Region: York County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 06, 2019
Observation date: Jul 24, 2019
Submitted by: Vonda Zwick
Region: Cook County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: May 21, 2017
Submitted by: june newman
Region: Carroll County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
Observation date: Sep 28, 2013
Submitted by: dsjue
Region: Wakulla County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 02, 2019
Observation date: Aug 28, 2019
Submitted by: DNADEB
Region: Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 01, 2019
Observation date: Aug 29, 2019
Submitted by: Bluefox122
Region: Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: montejosh
Region: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 26, 2019
Submitted by: smsmith14
Region: York County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: mitzis
Region: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 24, 2019
Submitted by: FZ1000mothnut
Region: Medina County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 28, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: dsjue
Region: Jefferson County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 28, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: birdlady1
Region: Lake County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 26, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: crandal
Region: Medina County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 26, 2019
Observation date: Aug 06, 2018
Submitted by: ghaake
Region: Christian County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 25, 2019
Observation date: Aug 24, 2019
Submitted by: greggra
Region: Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 25, 2019
Observation date: Aug 11, 2019
Submitted by: Marsrover
Region: Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 19, 2019
Observation date: Aug 14, 2019
Submitted by: vvryabyy
Region: Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 14, 2019
Observation date: Aug 12, 2019
Submitted by: EMB
Region: Franklin County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 13, 2019
- ‹ previous
- 17 of 126
- next ›