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

Spreadwing skipper - Erynnis baptisiae - male

Wild Indigo Duskywing - Erynnis baptisiae - female

brown butterfly? - Erynnis baptisiae - female

Duskywing - Columbine or Wild Indigo? - Erynnis baptisiae - male

Wild Indigo Duskywing ovipositing - Erynnis baptisiae

Wild Indigo Duskywing - 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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