Hoary Edge - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 1½ - 1¾ inches (3.8 - 4.4 cm). The upperside of both wings has a ground color of dark brown. The central portion of the forewing is crossed by a band formed by 4 or 5 translucent, squarish, golden spots. The outer margin of the hindwing is checkered, but mainly white. The underside of the hindwing has a very diagnostic color pattern: it is banded with black and brown at the base while the outer one-half of the wing is heavily frosted (hoary) with white.This distinguishes it from the simiilar Silver-spotted Skipper.

Egg: Off-white. Laid singly on leaflets of host plant, usually a legume.

Caterpillar: Yellow-green with blue dorsal stripe and thin orange lateral stripe. Body profusely covered with minute yellow speckles. Head black with no facial spots.

Chrysalis: Brown. Mid-section lighter with two dark stripes.

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Male Hoary Edges perch along the edges of sunny woodland roads or in forest openings. They usually perch on bare ground, or on a twig or leaf about three to six feet off the ground. They readily sip moisture and minerals from damp soil. Hoary Edges are territorial and readily chase away any intruding insect, but immediately return to their home-base perch. They have a very rapid flight.

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin, Hale, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Winston

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

82 - Cleburne - 8/2/2021
51 - Cleburne - 5/14/2019
51 - Cleburne - 7/16/2020

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
											7	4	16	36	66	118	236	101	47	56	3		17	34	68	138	164	121	89	29	39	6	7		3	1	2	1

Sunny woodland roads or in forest openings. They seem to prefer oak or pine woods with sandy soil. They may also be found along dirt roads that run through wooded areas.

In nearby states, the larvae are reported to feed on the leaves of several species in the pea family (Fabaceae) which include lespedezas (Lespedeza spp.), tick trefoils (Desmodium spp.), and Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria).

In Alabama, Spiked Hoary Pea (Tephrosia spicata) and tick trefoils (Desmodium spp.) have been documented.

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Provide a variety of garden worthy, nectar-rich flowers to attract butterflies like the Hoary Edge. These include: Butterfly Milkweed and other milkweeds; Purple Coneflower and other coneflowers; black eyed susans; phloxes; mountain mints; Common Buttonbush; Joe Pye weeds; gayfeathers/blazing stars; Mistflower; ironweeds; asters; and goldenrods.

Hoary Edge (Thorybes lyciades) Photos

Click on individual photos to view a larger version that includes photo credits, county, and date.
Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.