One of our most common and under rated butterflies is the Horace’s duskywing (Erynnis horatius). They are closely related to the skippers, but aren’t as brightly colored as most of the rest of them. In fact, they are less colorful than most butterflies and are often mistaken for a diurnal moth. If you look at them, though, you can see that they really have a pretty and quite intricate pattern on their wings, especially the forewings. They also have some longer hairs around the body that helps give them a nice textured appearance.

I run into these pretty little butterflies in many places. There always seem to be a few flying around our kennel area, especially in the spring before the rains begin. They like to puddle in the mud that comes from all of our cleaning. I also see them in and around my yard, which is where I took the second two images. They do seem to be especially fond of the blackjacks, but I also see them on many of the other wildflowers that grow around here. Finally, it not unusual for me to see duskywings on many of my hikes. They have a tendency to fly out of the woods and land in a sunny spot on the trail. Sometimes they will sit there for several minutes at a time. I’m not completely sure what they are doing, but it’s a behavior I see quite often. The butterfly in the first photo was perched on a small twig in the middle of the path. By approaching slowly, I was able to get pretty close allowing me to really catch the beautiful patterns on the wings. These guys are really good pollinators, so I’m always happy to see them around. I don’t think you necessarily have to be showy to still be beautiful and the Horace’s duskywing is a fine example of that.