A brown butterfly perching on a purple wildflower. Horace's Duskywing Skipper Butterfly. Erynnis horatius.

Wild Facts About The Horace’s Duskywing Skipper Butterfly

ByChristine Wild Animals

How To Identify Horace’s Duskywing Skipper Butterflies

  • Wingspan: 1.25 – 1.75 inches (3.2 – 4.4 cm)
  • Above:
    • Both forewings and hind wings are predominantly brown, with no gray.
    • Differentiated from several different species of Duskywing Skippers mostly by the presence of a single, tiny, white spot on the forewing cell.
    • Cluster of small, white spots at forewing tip.
      • Wing markings are otherwise minimal and small, pale, and faint.
    • Females are lighter brown overall, with more contrast in wing markings.
  • Below:
    • Paler than above overall.
    • Mottled dark and light brown with no white markings.
  • Horace’s Duskywing Skipper Butterflies are often mistaken for moths because both are dull brown and spread their wings out flat when perched.
  • Casual nature observers are most apt to spot a Horace’s Duskywing Skipper as this species has a longer flight season and a broader distribution than the other species.

How to Find Horace’s Duskywing Skipper Butterflies

  • Flight Season: In North Carolina, adult Horace’s Duskywing Skippers fly between May and October, and have approximately three broods every summer (Daniels 2003).
    • These brown butterflies fly longer than other duskywing skippers such as the Juvenal’s Skipper (Erynnis juvenalis), which only flies for the first few months of spring.
  • Look for adult Horace’s Duskywing Skippers in warm, sunny spots near woodlands, especially woods with oak trees.
  • Males perch on low vegetation and sometimes like to puddle at damp sand or gravel to drink water and obtain mineral salts.
  • Horace’s Duskywing Skippers do not sequester toxic chemicals from their food plants in their body tissues like some other butterfly species.

Similar Species

  • Horace’s Duskywing Skipper Butterflies look very similar to several other Duskywing species found in the eastern United States.
  • These include:
    • Juvenal’s Duskywings (Erynnis juvenalis),
    • Zarucco Duskywings (Erynnis zarucco),
    • Dreamy Duskywings (Erynnis icelus),
    • Sleepy Duskywings (Erynnis brizo),
    • Wild Indigo Duskywings (Erynnis baptisiae).
  • Distinguishing between the different species can be difficult for several reasons:
    • Species identification relies on faint and subtle field marks,
    • Individual butterflies can vary in appearance despite being of the same species,
    • Aged butterflies often have worn or tattered wings,
    • Ranges and flight seasons overlap for many Erynnis species,
    • The angle of sunlight or depth of shade can change butterflies’ appearance,
    • Many species within the Erynnis genus use the same type of larval food plants,
    • Individual butterflies land and remain motionless for only brief periods of time, making observation of subtle field marks difficult.
  • For example, Horace’s, Juvenal’s, Zarucco, and Sleepy Duskywings all fly throughout the southeastern United States in the spring.
    • These species look so alike—and individual butterflies vary so much in appearance—that differentiating them in the field can be challenging.

Scientific Classification

  • These butterflies are called “skippers” because of their quick, darting flying style, called “duskywings” because of their dull, brown coloration, and “Horace’s” after a Roman poet (many duskywing species are named after Roman poets) (Glassberg 1999).

Kingdom

Animalia (animals)

Phylum

Arthropoda (arthropods)

Class

Insecta (insects)

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)

Family

Hesperiidae (skippers)

Genus

Erynnis

Species

E. horatius

Scientific Name

Erynnis horatius

Horace’s Duskywing Skipper Photo Gallery

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Christine
Christine is the creator and author of NowIWonder.com, a website dedicated to the animals and plants that share our world, and the science that helps us understand them. Inspired by lifelong exploration and learning, Christine loves to share her knowledge with others who want to connect with wild faces and wild spaces.
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