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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Skippers (Hesperiidae) » Spread-wing Skippers (Pyrginae) » Erynnini » Duskywings (Erynnis) » Wild Indigo Duskywing - Hodges#3959 (Erynnis baptisiae)

Species Erynnis baptisiae - Wild Indigo Duskywing - Hodges#3959

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References
Wild Indigo Duskywing - Erynnis baptisiae - female Unknown Butterfly? - Erynnis baptisiae - male Wild Indigo Duskywing - Erynnis baptisiae - male - female possibly female Erynnis baptisiae - Erynnis baptisiae Wild Indigo Duskywing? - Erynnis baptisiae Spreadwing Skipper - Indigo Duskywing? - Erynnis baptisiae - male unknown 3-spot - Erynnis baptisiae Dusky Spreadwing Skipper - Is it the Wild Indigo? - Erynnis baptisiae
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Hesperiidae (Skippers)
Subfamily Pyrginae (Spread-wing Skippers)
Tribe Erynnini
Genus Erynnis (Duskywings)
Species baptisiae (Wild Indigo Duskywing - Hodges#3959)
Hodges Number
3959
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Erynnis baptisiae (Forbes, 1936)
Size
WS ≈ 35–41mm
Identification
Adult: Upperside of FW 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. b
Range
BugGuide Distribution
Habitat
Open woods and barrens for native hosts. Highways, railroad beds, and upland fields for the introduced crown vetch. b
Season
Adults are on wing from late April to early June and again from July to August. There are two generations per year. a
Food
Adult: Feed on nectar from flowers of blackberry, white sweet clover, dogbane, sunflower, crimson clover and probably others. a
Larva: Mainly feed on Baptisia tinctoria, but have also been recorded on Baptisia australis, Lupinus perennis, Thermopsis villosa and Coronilla varia. a
Life Cycle
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. b
Remarks
The species is rapidly expanding its range and abundance by colonizing plantings of crown vetch along roadways and railroad beds. a
See Also
Erynnis lucilius           Erynnis baptisiae           Erynnis persius

Columbine (E. lucilius), Wild Indigo (E. baptisiae) and Persius (E. persius) Duskywings belong to the "Persius complex," a confusing group of very similar skippers. a
Internet References
Wikipedia - brief description and image
Butterflies and Moths of North America - description and image
Contributed by tom murray on 18 June, 2005 - 8:56pm
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, Robert Lord Zimlich
Last updated 2 July, 2017 - 7:45am

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