''Pholisora catullus'', the common sootywing or roadside rambler, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Hesperiidae Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...

. It is found from the central parts of the United States, south to central

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Strays may colonize up to southern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, northern

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, southern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and southern

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. It is not found on peninsular Florida. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 25–33 mm. There are two generations with adults on wing from May to August in the northern part of its range and from March to November in Texas. The larvae feed on ''

Chenopodium album ''Chenopodium album'' is a fast-growing annual plant in the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach a ...

'', ''

Amaranthus ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some names include " prostrate pigweed" and " love lies bleeding". Some amaranth ...

'' and ''

Celosia ''Celosia'' ( ) is a small genus of edible and ornamental plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. Its species are commonly known as woolflowers, or, if the flower heads are crested by fasciation, cockscombs. The plants are well known in E ...

'' species. Adults feed on flower nectar from various flowers, including dogbane, marjoram, oxalis, white clover, common milkweed, peppermint, cucumber and melon.

References

External links

nearctica
Carcharodini Butterflies described in 1793 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Butterflies of North America Lepidoptera of Mexico Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Canada {{Pyrginae-stub