Erynnis horatius Scudder & Burgess, 1870 (Hodges #3952)

Horace's Dusky Wing

Florida native

Click on any image to open the slideshow

Horace's dusky wings are drab brown butterflies found in scrubs, sandhills, flatwoods, along the margins of hammocks and in shrubby disturbed areas throughout Florida. Most populous in the southeastern United States, the range extends west to Utah and Arizona, through the midwest as far as South Dakota and Minnesota and into New England, excluding Vermont and Maine.
WIngspans range from 3.4 to 4.9 cm (1-1/3 to 1-15/16 in.). Both sexes have transparent spots on the forewings. Males have a coastal fold on the forewing containing yellow scent scales. Females have scent scales on the seventh abdominal segment. Females have more of a wing pattern, showing white and black areas on the brown wings, both upperside and underside. Males show a very faint pattern mostly on the upperside of the forewings.
Oak shrubs and trees are larval host plants. Adult butterflies feed on various plants up to about 1.37 m (4-1/2 ft.) high. The butterfly pictured here is feeding on the flowers of turkey tangle fogfruit (Phyla nodiflora).
At least seven of the 25 Erynnis species occur in Florida.

Erynnis horatius is a member of the Hesperiidae - Skippers family.

iNaturalist profile for this species

For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Bugguide.net page for this species

Date record last modified: May 27, 2023