Horace's Duskywing

Here's a Horace's Duskywing from last summer. Unless it's a Juvenal's Duskywing; together they comprise another pair of very similar and related butterflies. But let's go with the Horace theory.

Like a lot of skippers, the duskywings are difficult to identify because they're fairly similar. They differ from a lot of the skippers I see by being spread-winged skippers, who are much more inclined to hold their wings down when at rest than the grass skippers.

I initially thought this butterfly might have been named after Horace Waller, a lepidopterist and anti-slavery activist alive around the time of the discovery of this butterfly, but apparently many of the duskywings are named after Roman poets like Horace.

As caterpillars these butterflies feed on oaks. They also survive the winter as caterpillars and are probably ready to enter their chrysalis stage as soon as spring arrives.

August 5, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 148952672, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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