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.

BAMONA Shop

Check out our new Fall 2025 Classic BAMONA Logo Shirts and cozy Native Plants Hoodies!

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 169 - 192 of 2933 verified sightings

Filter by Region

Observation date: Apr 10, 2023

Submitted by: Cascade Colors

Region: Franklin County, Tennessee, United States

Verified by: James Steen

Verified date: Apr 11, 2023

Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Please donate!

Advertise with us!

Verified Sightings

Advertisement

Horace's Duskywing
Erynnis horatius (Scudder & Burgess, 1870)