May 13th, 2006
identity crisis
Nope, I’m not the one with the identity crisis, but I could definitely use some help in identifying these two butterflies. I may or may not have ID’d them correctly, so if there are any lepidopterist-minded visitors to this blog who would like to take a shot at these, please feel free to post a comment.
Top photo: To me, this looks like a Dreamy Duskywing (Erynnis icelus), which is in the Family Hesperidae (Skippers), and a member of the Genus Erynnis (Duskywings). Unlike most Skippers that hold their wings up with front pair raised on an angle above the rear pair, the Duskywings usually rest with their wings more fanned out flat — almost more like a moth than a butterfly. According to The Butterflies of Canada (Layberry, Hall, Lafontaine), the Dreamy Duskywing does commonly occur in my region (eastern Ontario), and is described as having a flight season of mid-May to late June in my range. It is associated with poplar, willow and birch in damp woods, which is a good description of the area of my farm where it was found.
Bottom photo: This very small butterfly looks to me like a Henry’s Elfin (Callophrys henrici), which is in the Family Lycaenidae, Subfamily Theclinae (Hairstreaks). According to The Butterflies of Canada (Layberry, Hall, Lafontaine), Henry’s Elfin does occur in my range, and specifically in both the St. Lawrence and Ottawa River Valleys (the region where I live). Its flight season is early May to early June. Principle foodplants include Prunus spp. and Rhamnaceae (Buckthorns), both of which are plentiful on or around our farm.
So, those are the two butterflies for ID. Please feel free to post an ID or other comment if you wish!
Tags: Dreamy Duskywing, Erynnis icelus, Henry’s Elfin, Callophrys henrici
May 14th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
Bev – LBB’s? Little Brown Butterflies? We have a lot of LBM’s – little brown mushrooms around here as well and I’m *never* able to figure them out (except not to eat them).
Despite that, they are beautifully photographed especially the bottom one, with the fur on the wings and body and orange markings on the antennae. The top one does look like a skipper, from my recent experience.
Have you thought about uploading an image to bugguide?
May 15th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Wayne – Yes, I guess we can have LBBs for butterflies as well as birds! I agree on the LBM’s too, and admit to not trying too hard to figure them out.
And yes, that bottom butterfly is really quite a beauty. Difficult to see this, but the edge of the hind wings has an interesting shape, and yes, lots of fur as well.
That’s a good idea about posting it up BugGuide.net. Maybe I’ll do that a little later today or tomorrow. Btw, I used to do more of that about a year ago, but found I couldn’t keep up with posting photos there and the Moth Photographer’s Group website, along with my own websites (it started to feel like I was spending all day uploading photos — which indeed, I was!!). (-: