Columbine Duskywing (Erynnis lucilius [Scudder & Burgess])
Wing span: 1 3/16 - 1 5/8 inches (3 - 4.2 cm).
Identification: Upperside is dark brown; brown patch at end of forewing cell is indistinct. Underside of hindwing has marginal and submarginal rows of well-defined pale spots. Male has a costal fold containing yellow scent scales; female has a patch of scent scales on the 7th abdominal segment.
Life history: Females deposit eggs singly under leaves of the host plant. Caterpillars feed on leaves and rest in shelters of leaves. Fully-grown caterpillars from the second brood hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from April-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and sometimes garden columbine (A. vulgaris) in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Rocky deciduous or mixed woodland and edges, especially in ravines or gullies.
Range: Southern Quebec and southern New England west to Minnesota; south to New Jersey and Pennsylvania; south along the Appalachians to Virginia and Kentucky.
Comments: The Columbine, Wild Indigo, and Persius dusky wings belong to the "Persius complex," a confusing group of very similar butterflies.
