Horace's Duskywing
Erynnis horatius (Scudder & Burgess, 1870)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Pyrginae
Identification: Fringes are brown. Upperside of male forewing is dark brown with little contrast and no white overscaling. Upperside of female forewing is light brown with a contrasting pattern and large transparent spots. Underside of hindwing is usually without 2 spots below the apex. Male has a costal fold containing yellow scent scales; female has a patch of scent scales on the 7th abdominal segment.
Wing Span: 1 7/16 - 1 15/16 inches (3.6 - 4.9 cm).
Life History: To seek females, males perch at the ends of twigs on hilltops or slopes about 1 foot above the ground. Mating has been observed around midday; females deposit eggs singly on new growth of the host. Caterpillars feed on young leaves and rest in leaf nests. Caterpillars of the last brood hibernate.
Flight: Two broods in the north from April-September, three broods in the Deep South and Texas from January-November.
Caterpillar Hosts: Both red and white oaks including willow oak (Quercus phellos), northern red oak (Q. velutina), scrub oak (Q. ilicifolia), water oak (Q. nigra), post oak (Q. stellata), and live oak (Q. virginiana).
Adult Food: Horace\'s Duskywing visits flower up to about 4.5 feet tall including dogbane, buttonbush, sneezeweed, goldenrod, peppermint, boneset, and winter cress.
Habitat: Open woodlands and edges, clearings, fencerows, wooded swamps, power-line right-of-ways, open fields, roadsides.
Range: Massachusetts west to eastern South Dakota; south through most of the eastern United States to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and South Texas; south in the west through southeastern Utah, Colorado, northeastern Arizona, and New Mexico.
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 409 - 432 of 2942 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 29, 2019
Submitted by: noracatbird
Region: Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 03, 2021
Observation date: Jul 21, 2019
Submitted by: EddieGarrity
Region: Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 03, 2021
Observation date: Aug 22, 2019
Submitted by: EddieGarrity
Region: Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 02, 2021
Observation date: Aug 21, 2019
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 02, 2021
Observation date: Aug 17, 2016
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 02, 2021
Observation date: Aug 04, 2016
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 01, 2021
Observation date: Sep 10, 2019
Submitted by: Andrew Keegan
Region: Fairfax County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 01, 2021
Observation date: Jul 04, 2020
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 31, 2020
Observation date: Jul 04, 2020
Submitted by: tca12345
Region: Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 31, 2020
Observation date: Aug 10, 2020
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 31, 2020
Observation date: Aug 06, 2020
Submitted by: c4c
Region: Botetourt County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 31, 2020
Observation date: Aug 26, 2020
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 31, 2020
Observation date: Aug 08, 2020
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 31, 2020
Observation date: Jul 26, 2014
Submitted by: Don Marotte
Region: Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Jun 11, 2015
Submitted by: Beverly Carter
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 14, 2020
Observation date: Jul 26, 2011
Submitted by: Tom Middagh
Region: Nobles County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Dec 13, 2020
Observation date: Apr 03, 2016
Submitted by: joverby_1
Region: Stokes County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: Jun 10, 2015
Submitted by: KristyBaker
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: May 27, 2015
Submitted by: polson123
Region: Columbus County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: May 10, 2015
Submitted by: Dave Fairall
Region: Avery County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: Jun 07, 2017
Submitted by: MsCatipilr
Region: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Jun 27, 2017
Submitted by: NCARI
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 09, 2020
Observation date: Jun 23, 2017
Submitted by: stuartp
Region: Orange County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 08, 2020
Observation date: Jun 13, 2017
Submitted by: NCARI
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 08, 2020
- ‹ previous
- 18 of 123
- next ›