Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Erynnis lucilius (Scudder & Burgess, 1870)
Identification
Adult: Upperside is dark brown; brown patch at end of FW cell is indistinct. Underside of hindwing has marginal and submarginal rows of well-defined pale spots. Male has a costal fold containing yellow scent scales; female has a patch of scent scales on the 7th abdominal segment.
Range
Quebec & New England, west to Manitoba; south to New Jersey, along the Appalachians to Virginia and Kentucky.
Season
Two broods from April-September.
Food
Adult: Flower nectar.
Larva:
Columbine, wild (
Aquilegia Canadensis) and sometimes garden (
A. vulgaris), in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).
Life Cycle
Females deposit eggs singly under leaves of the host plant. Caterpillars feed on leaves and rest in shelters of leaves. Fully-grown caterpillars from the second brood hibernate.
Life cycle photos:
egg on Columbine leaf, egg with larva hatching, larva, larva, adult
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.
Internet References
Species page at Butterflies and Moths of North America