wild indigo duskywing

(Erynnis baptisiae)

Conservation Status
wild indigo duskywing
Photo by John Shier
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SU - Unrankable

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Wild indigo duskywing is a medium-sized spread-wing skipper. It is ¾ in length and has a wingspan of 1 to 1.

The wings are dark brown. The upperside of the forewing is very dark on the basal half, appearing “oily”. At the end of the cell there is a distinct, light, orangish-brown or reddish-brown patch. There are several spots, including a cluster of four white translucent spots at the leading edge in the region just before the tip (subapical area); two white subapical spots near the middle; and a row of pale marginal spots. The hindwing has a faint cell end bar, a row of white marginal spots, and a row of pale submarginal spots.

The antennae are short and striped. Each antenna has a black swelling (club) at the tip, and a pale, thin, hooked extension (apiculus) at the end of the club.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: ¾

Wingspan: 1 to 1

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Columbine duskywing (Erynnis lucilius) is nearly identical but is much rarer. It is slightly smaller, slightly lighter, and the forewings are shorter. It may not be possible to distinguish between the two adults in the field unless the specimen is on or near a caterpillar host plant.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Fields and other grassy areas with crown vetch, roadside embankments, railroad rights-of-way

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Two generations per year: Late May through June and mid-July to late August

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Caterpillars feed at night. During the day they remain in a webbed shelter inside a rolled leaf.

Adults hold their wings flat when at rest.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

Males perch on low shrubs in open areas waiting for passing females. The female lays eggs singly on the foliage of host plants. Larvae make a webbed shelter by rolling a leaf and tying it with silk. They live in their shelters, exiting only at night to feed. Second generation larvae overwinter in their shelters as late instar caterpillars and pupate in their shelters in the spring.

 
     
 

Larva Hosts

 
 

Wild indigo, lupine, and crown vetch

This skipper was originally a species of open woodlands and shrubby prairies. The larvae fed on mostly on horseflyweed (Baptisia tinctoria) but also on blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis) and on sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis). With the decline of those plant species due to habitat loss, the skipper adapted to the introduced, locally abundant species crown vetch (Securigera varia).

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Nectar from flowers, including crown vetch; blackberry; blueberry; common strawberry; wild bergamot; red, white, alsike, and crimson clovers; white and yellow sweet clovers; bird’s-foot trefoil; garlic mustard; blazing stars; black-eyed Susan; prairie ironweed; chicory; Canadian horseweed; common dandelion; Joe Pye weeds; thistles; sunflowers; asters; and dogbane.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 71, 82.

 
  7/25/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Widespread, abundant, and increasing in the east and the Midwest, rare in Minnesota

NatureServe lists this species as “Unrankable” for the state of Minnesota. Its range is rapidly expanding and its numbers are increasing wherever crown vetch has been widely planted.

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)  
 

Superfamily

Papilionoidea (butterflies)  
 

Family

Hesperiidae (skippers)  
 

Subfamily

Pyrginae (spread-wing skippers)  
 

Tribe

Erynnini (duskywings and allies)  
 

Genus

Erynnis (duskywings)  
       
 

Skippers have traditionally been placed in their own superfamily Hesperioidea because of their morphological similarity. Recent phylogenetic analysis (Kawahara and Breinholt, 2014) suggests that they share the same common ancestor as other butterfly families, and thus belong in the superfamily, Papilionoidea.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

wild indigo duskywing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Apiculus

A thin hooked or pointed extension at the ends of each antennae just beyond the club of all skippers except skipperlings (subfamily Heteropterinae).

 

Instar

The developmental stage of arthropods between each molt; in insects, the developmental stage of the larvae or nymph.

 

Subapical area

In insects, the region just before the tip of the wing.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Greg Watson

 
    wild indigo duskywing      
 

John Shier

 
  There is no wild indigo at Afton SP, but it is said that this species has adapted to crown vetch as a host plant, and there is quite a bit of that at Afton SP.   wild indigo duskywing  
           
 
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Other Videos
 
  Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae)
Act Naturally
 
   
 
About

Published on Jul 27, 2016

Wild Indigo Duskywings are small brown butterflies with a wingspan of 1 3/8 - 1 5/8 inches (3/5 - 4.1 cm). They live in New England, Nebraska, Georgia, Gulf Coast, Texas and southern Ontario, Canada. This one was filmed in Toronto. They are rapidly expanding their range and are found in open woods, railroad beds and by the sides on paths and roads. They belong to the Hesperiidae family, which can be a confusing group of many similar species. If you see butterflies in Ontario you can upload pictures and report sightings to:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/onbutterflies

When reporting butterfly sightings on Ontario Butterflies, please include the date, time, species if you know it, a picture when possible and your name. If you do that they can include it in the Butterfly Atlas.

I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor)

Pictures and Videos © Act Naturally 2015

 
  Wild Indigo Duskywing (Erynnis baptisiae), Great Swamp, 4-16-12
Bryan Glemboski
 
   
 
About

Published on Apr 16, 2012

A Wild Indigo Duskywing hangs on for dear life in the wind today.

 
  Wild Indigo duskywing attempted mating
Paul Switzer
 
   
 
About

Published on Aug 11, 2015

A wild indigo duskywing skipper attempts to mate with another individual, with a dog day cicada serenade (11 Aug 2015; Coles Co, IL).

 
  Wild Indigo Dustywing, Erynnis baptisiae, pupa
MJBugs
 
   
 
About

Published on Feb 8, 2015

 
  Wild Indigo? Duskywing laying eggs on Groundnut (Apios americana)
Tom's Biological Videography
 
   
 
About

Published on Sep 11, 2016

This (likely) Wild Indigo Duskywing female was laying eggs on Groundnut along the river. Groundnut is not a listed larval host plant for either Wild Indigo or Zarucco Duskywings, the large visibly similar relative that this could also be.

 

 

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  Greg Watson
7/24/2022

Location: La Crescent, MN, backyard

wild indigo duskywing  
  John Shier
7/22/2018

Location: Afton State Park

There is no wild indigo at Afton SP, but it is said that this species has adapted to crown vetch as a host plant, and there is quite a bit of that at Afton SP.

wild indigo duskywing  
           
 
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