Hoary Edge - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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This is a butterfly of dry, partially sunny woodlands, although it may wander to wetlands in search of nectar sources like Buttonbush. It is sometimes confused with the much more ubiquitous Silver-spotted Skipper, but Hoary Edge's telltale white patch covers the outer portion of its hindwing rather than the center, and it lacks Silver-spotted's noticeably elongated forewing shape.

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

Females lay single eggs, often on the underside of a host plant leaf that is in full or partial shade. Caterpillars construct leaf shelters by silking several leaves together. Pupation occurs within a leaf shelter.

Hoary Edge is the only member of its genus in the eastern United States. Another Achalarus species, Desert Cloudywing, occurs in the parts of American Southwest, Mexico, and Central America.

Distribution and Abundance

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, Bullock, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Cullman, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin, Hale, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marshall, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, 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	17	39	66	118	244	102	47	56	3		22	41	77	140	170	127	93	30	39	8	7		3	1	2	1

Habitat

Dry, upland sunny woodland roads or forest openings. Oak or pine woods, especially those with sandy soil. Hoary Edges may also be found along dirt roads that run through wooded areas.

Host and Nectar Plants

Reports from nearby states list several pea family (Fabaceae) species that 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.

Landscaping Ideas

Provide a variety of garden worthy, nectar-rich flowers to attract Hoary Edges and other butterflies. Like many skippers, Hoary Edges usually nectar from pink, blue, purple, or white flowers. Good choices include Purple Coneflower and other coneflowers, black eyed susans, phloxes, mountain mints, Common Buttonbush, Joe Pye weeds, gayfeathers/blazing stars, Mistflower, ironweeds, and asters.