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 481 - 504 of 3022 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 27, 2018
Submitted by: BrandonH
Region: Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 28, 2018
Observation date: Jul 27, 2018
Submitted by: BrandonH
Region: Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 28, 2018
Observation date: Jul 27, 2018
Submitted by: davek
Region: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 28, 2018
Observation date: Jul 28, 2018
Submitted by: tdanielspa
Region: Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 28, 2018
Observation date: Jul 25, 2018
Submitted by: pporonto
Region: Macomb County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 28, 2018
Observation date: Jul 27, 2018
Submitted by: Pondboy
Region: Marion County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Jul 27, 2018
Observation date: Jul 07, 2018
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
Verified by: PDeGennaro
Verified date: Jul 25, 2018
Observation date: Jul 23, 2018
Submitted by: Tony DeSantis
Region: Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 24, 2018
Observation date: Jul 20, 2018
Submitted by: whhowe
Region: Steuben County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 21, 2018
Observation date: Jul 20, 2018
Submitted by: BrandonH
Region: Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 21, 2018
Observation date: Jul 13, 2018
Submitted by: Jim Lowe
Region: Tompkins County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 19, 2018
Observation date: Jul 12, 2018
Submitted by: pachips
Region: Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 19, 2018
Observation date: Jul 16, 2018
Submitted by: BrandonH
Region: Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 17, 2018
Observation date: Jul 16, 2018
Submitted by: BrandonH
Region: Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 17, 2018
Observation date: Jul 16, 2018
Submitted by: davidboon
Region: Oakland County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 16, 2018
Observation date: Jul 08, 2018
Submitted by: the meowking
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 16, 2018
Observation date: Jul 13, 2018
Submitted by: satchmo0802
Region: Kings County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 15, 2018
Observation date: Jul 13, 2018
Submitted by: satchmo0802
Region: Kings County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 15, 2018
Observation date: Jul 11, 2018
Submitted by: Jim Lowe
Region: Tompkins County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 13, 2018
Observation date: Jul 09, 2018
Submitted by: rbuist
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 13, 2018
Observation date: Jul 10, 2018
Submitted by: nrpeters
Region: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 10, 2018
Observation date: Jul 10, 2018
Submitted by: beastbreath
Region: Ingham County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 10, 2018
Observation date: Jul 09, 2018
Submitted by: nrpeters
Region: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 10, 2018
Observation date: Jul 09, 2018
Submitted by: BrandonH
Region: Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 10, 2018
- ‹ previous
- 21 of 126
- next ›