Windwolf
Crex Meadows Butterflies ... Dreamy Duskywing Skipper
Dreamy Duskywing
Erynnis icelus
The Skipper numbers continue to increase and today added a different type of Duskywing to the 2008 butterfly sightings.
Several of the Dreamy Duskywings were sunning themselves and taking up minerals from the soils.
The individuals photographed this day all appeared very fresh and full colored with little or no wearing.
These Dreamy Duskywing skippers were all along a firebreak road on the northeast side of Crex Meadows.
Wing span:
1 1/8 - 1 1/2 inches (2.9 - 3.8 cm).
Caterpillar hosts:
Willows, poplars, aspens, and occasionally birch.
Caterpillars feed on leaves and rest in nests of rolled or tied leaves. Fully-grown caterpillars hibernate in leaf shelters.
| Kingdom | Animalia | (Animals) |
| Phylum | Arthropoda | (Arthropods) |
| Superclass | Hexapoda | (Hexapods) |
| Class | Insecta | (Insects) |
| Subclass | Pterygota | (Winged Insects) |
| Order | Lepidoptera | (Butterflies and Moths) |
| Superfamily | Papilionoidea | (Butterflies) |
| Family | Hesperiidae | (Skippers) |
| Subfamily | Pyrginae | (Spread-wing Skippers) |
| Genus | Erynnis | (Duskywings) |
| Species | icelus | (Dreamy Duskywing) |
Sighting Dates:
My sightings charts are a work in progress. Early in my butterfly photography, I was learning what I was seeing. When I discovered Wisconsinbutterflies.org, my submissions were only undocumented or species that had no photos. I have gone through my photos from that year and was able to add sightings to make for a better accounting.
In 2009, I set a goal of trying to hit the meadows once a week to record the butterflies, but weather prevented some visits. Also, I did not keep a good record of how many were seen, so some sightings were locations seen at, not numbers of butterflies seen.
In 2010, I began to try to document actual numbers. For many of these guys, such as the Milberts tortoisehell, as of today, I have only seen single individuals, so those sightings are locations. If I reported 3 one week, it was three individuals that week, in different locations on Crex Meadows. So to use this charting to its best use, look for a general average sighting date over the years.
Also note, in 2010, butterflies across wisconsin were being reported two to three weeks earlier than normal.
All pictures taken May 21, 2008
