Juvenal's Duskywing - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 1¼ - 1¾ inches (3.2 - 4.4 cm). UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) Dark brown. Small cluster of tiny white spots near forewing tip. Heavily patterned with gray, brown, black, and tan. Significant gray frosting near forewing. Female more heavily patterned. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Brown. Hindwing has two small light spots near upper edge of forewing.

ID Tip: Under surface hindwing has two small, light spots that Horace's Duskywings lack.

Egg: Creamy white when laid; turns pale orange. A sphere with numerous longitudinal ridges. Laid on or near new growth.

Caterpillar: Light green or blue/green with a yellow lateral stripe. Body covered with short hairs and minute white tubercles. Head is brown with small points at top; rimmed with a pair of yellow/orange dots. Collar indistinct. First three pairs of legs are pale. Mature caterpillars overwinter.

Chrysalis: Tan or reddish-brown. May be partially covered with a powdery, white substance.

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Juvenal's Duskywing is one of the earliest flying, most encountered skippers in Alabama. It is on the wing in February and flies throughout the spring. By mid-May, most are gone and the very similar Horace's Duskywing seems to take its place for the summer and fall.

Males perch around woodland openings or edges on bare twigs about 3-12 feet above the ground as they wait for females. They are highly territorial and aggressive and will fly out from their perch to engage various insects who happen to fly by. After the encounter, they will return to their perch. These butterflies have a quick, low flight. When they perch, they do so with their wings fully spread. However, when they roost, they grasp a twig and fold their wings and antennae backward like those of a moth. Juvenal's Duskywings often sip moisture from damp ground where they sit with open wings. They may be encountered in large puddle clubs, often in the company of other duskywings: identification can be challenging!

Female Juvenal's lay their eggs on or near the new growth of several oak species. They have been observed ovipositing on short outgrowths approximately 3' tall as well as in the canopy. Caterpillars develop slowly. Growth is not complete until fall, when they tun light brown and tightly silk a leaf shelter. The leaf eventually falls from the tree, and the final instar caterpillar spends the winter in the leaf litter on the ground. Pupation occurs in early spring.

This wide ranging species is found throughout the eastern United States. It probably occurs in every county in Alabama.

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, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Covington, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Macon, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Washington, Winston

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

High count(s):

175 - Lawrence - 3/23/2023
147 - Lawrence - 3/26/2021
102 - Bibb - 3/15/2019

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	2	89	224	307	910	2093	1046	482	238	36	28	12	5	1	1				1						1			16

Any open area in or near oak woodlands such as forest edges, utility right-of-ways, clearings, dirt roads and trails, and woodland stream edges.

Juvenal's Duskywing (*Erynnis juvenalis*)

County

© Sara Bright

Oak woodland

Larvae feed on various species of oak trees. Reports from other states include White Oak (Quercus alba), Black Oak (Q. velutina), Post Oak (Q. stellata), Blackjack Oak (Q. marilandica), and Water oak (Q. nigra).

The following have been documented in Alabama:

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

Include oaks in your landscape to benefit many butterfly species including Juvenal's Duskywing.

Plant spring blooming trees and shrubs like Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), blueberries (Vaccinium spp), and wild plums (Prunus spp.) to provide nectar for spring flying butterflies like Juvenal's Duskywings.

Juvenal's Duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) 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.