Windwolf
Crex Meadows Butterflies ... Persius Duskywing Skipper
Persius Duskywing
Erynnis persius
The Persius Duskywing skipper is not common in Wisconsin proper and is state ranked as S2 (imperiled in Wisconsin).
During a butterfly trek Memorial weekend 2009 some of the regular people from Wisconsin butterflies.org were there for the Crex portion of the trek. They positively ID'd the Persius Duskywing and gave me tips on how to recognise this specie.
A Key ID feature is the position of the row of spots on the forewing. In Persius Duskywings these small dots (size matters) are always in a straight line and not offset like they are in other similar Duskywings.
There is often a single dot two veins over from the last inner dot in the main row of dots.
This individual is very fresh and the lone dot may be there but hidden by the lack of wear on the wings.
This Persius Duskywing was photographed May 23, 2009.
The photo to the left is of the same individual above and show a side view of the Persius Duskywing.
A side view shot will rule out the Juvenals Duskywing. This view does not show the two dominant white/light spots that a Juvenals duskywing has.
Wing span:
1 1/8 - 1 5/8 inches (2.9 - 4.2 cm).
Caterpillar hosts:
Wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) in the Midwest. Eastern Persius Duskywings use yellow wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria).
Females deposit eggs singly on the host plant. Caterpillars feed on leaves and live in shelters of rolled or tied leaves. Caterpillars hibernate.
The photo on the right is a different Persius Duskywing and was seen May 15, 2009.
The Persius Duskywing has two Duskywings which can be confused with it.
The first is the Wild Indigo Duskywing. t this time, the Wild Indigo Duskywing has not been documented in Burnett county.
The other is the Columbine Duskywing. The Columbine Duskywing has a historic record in Burnett county.
These three Duskywings can sometimes be difficult to seperate. This is especially true between the Wild Indigo Duskywing and the Columbine Duskywing.
The Persius Duskywing has one flight and the Wild Indigo and Columbine Duskywing have two flights in Wisconsin and the first flight overlaps with the Persius flight.
| 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 | persius | (Persius Duskywing) |
The above photo is of a different Persius Duskywing and shows very faded colors. Its edges do not seem worn or battered so it just may have been a duller hatch.
I believe the photo was taken May 15, 2009, but I forgot to write down the date as I cropped the image.
This photo is the same butterfly at the top of the page. Just one of my favorites.