Large Skippers & Flatwings
What are they?
Skippers are a puzzling group which seem to form a link between other butterflies and the moths, showing certain features normally associated with one or other of those two groups. Though there are some bright and colorful species in the tropics, temperate species are mostly rather drabbly colored. Skippers spend a lot of time nectaring at flowers which at least offers opportunities for them to be studied relatively easily.
Identification
Large skippers have long-pointed forewings and are usually strong and fast fliers. They are plentiful in the tropics but only a few species wander as far north as Cape May, making identification that little bit easier. The smaller flatwings can be told by their habit of settling with the wings held out flat. They are mostly dark brown in color and care needs to be taken to study the pattern on both the upper and underside of the wings, especially the hindwing.
Silver-spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus
Wingspan: 1.9 inches. Flight time: April to October in two or three broods. Larval foodplant: Members of the Pea family (Fabaceae), usually woody species. A fast and skitish species which is easily identified if the large, brilliant white patch on the underside of the hindwing can be seen.
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Long-tailed Skipper Urbanus proteus
Wingspan: 1.8 inches. Flight time: June to October after immigration from the south. Larval foodplant: Members of the Pea family (Fabaceae). An unpredictable species which may be absent some years but usually occurs in small numbers in late summer or early fall. Fresh individuals have a blue-green color to the base of the wings but older individuals can look mostly brown. In our area, the tail extensions on the hindwings are distinctive, but their are other similar species in the south and the pattern of spots and marks on both sides of the wings can then be useful.
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Southern Cloudywing Thorybes bathyllus
Wingspan: 1.4 inches. Flight time: June to July. Larval foodplant: Members of the Pea family (Fabaceae). A rather uncommon species and usually seen singly. A rather dingy species and sometimes very hard to tell from Northern Cloudywing, especially if the wings are worn. In well-marked or fresh individuals, an hour-glass shaped mark (half way along the wing, towards the leading edge) distinguishes this species from Northern Cloudywing. The underside of the hindwing has two, poorly-defined dark bands and the front of the face is whitish.
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Northern Cloudywing Thorybes pylades
Wingspan: 1.5 inches. Flight time: May to July. Larval foodplant: Members of the Pea family (Fabaceae). A rather uncommon species and usually seen singly. A rather dingy species and sometimes very hard to tell from Southern Cloudywing, especially if the wings are worn. In well-marked or fresh individuals, the pale spots on the upperside of the forewing are cleary small and their is no hour-glass shaped patch. The underside of the hindwing lacks dark bands and, when fresh, often has a frosty border. The face is dark, not whitish.
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Hayhurst's Scallopwing Staphylus hayhurstii
Wingspan: 1.1 inches. Flight time: May to August in two broods. Larval foodplant: Locally, this species is known to feed on Fat-hen (Chenopodium album). A rather localised species, perhaps most often seen south of the Cape May canal. A small, dark butterfly with rapid flight that can most easily be told from the other flatwings by thw wavy edge to the hindwing.
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Juvenal's Duskywing Erynnis juvenalis
Wingspan: 1.4 inches. Flight time: April to June. Larval foodplant: Oaks (Quercus spp.). An often common species in wooded areas, most often seen along woodland roadsides. A typical duskywing, being overall dark chocolate-brown, the females more strongly-marked than the males. Like Horace's Duskwing, this species has a pale spot towards the center of the forewing which is missing in Wild Indigo Duskywing. The most reliable identification feature is the presence of two pale spots, towards the leading edge of the underside of the hindwing, which can be very tricky to see! The front of the face is usually dark.
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Horace's Duskywing Erynnis horatius
Wingspan: 1.4 inches. Flight time: April to August in two broods. Larval foodplant: Oaks (Quercus spp.). Probably our commonest duskywing in the Cape May area and may be seen in most types of habitats where the larval foodplant occurs. A typical duskywing, being overall dark chocolate-brown, the females more strongly-marked than the males. Like Juvenal's Duskwing, this species has a pale spot towards the center of the forewing which is missing in Wild Indigo Duskywing. Lacks the two pale spots, towards the leading edge of the underside of the hindwing that Juvenal's Duskywing shows. The front of the face is often pale grayish-white, but this is not always reliable.
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Wild Indigo Duskywing Erynnis baptisiae
Wingspan: 1.3 inches. Flight time: May to August in two or three broods. Larval foodplant: Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) and apparently sometimes other members of the Pea family Fabaceae. A rather local species, according to the availability of its larval foodplant, but can sometimes be common. A typical duskywing, being overall dark chocolate-brown, the females more strongly-marked than the males. Unlike Juvenal's and Horace's Duskwings, this species lacks a pale spot towards the center of the forewing, or at least merely shows. a greatly reduced one. The forewing also has a tendency to be darker towards the body.
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Common Checkered Skipper Pyrgus communis
Wingspan: 1.1 inches. Flight time: July to September in two or three broods. Larval foodplant: Members of the Mallow family (Malvaceae). Uncommon and usually encountered singly in open, grassy areas. A distinctive small, black-and-white butterfly that flies close to the ground.
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Common Sootywing Pholisora catullus
Wingspan: 1.1 inches. Flight time: April to September in two or three broods. Larval foodplant: Fat-hen and related species (Chenopodiaceae). Uncommon and usually encountered singly in open, grassy areas. Superficially similar to the duskywings but a little smaller and more uniformly dark with a scattering of white dots.
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