''Thorybes bathyllus'', the southern cloudywing (sometimes spelled southern cloudy wing), is a North American

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 ...

in 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 ...

. Southern cloudywings can be difficult to identify because of individual variation and confusing seasonal forms. In the south, where it has two

brood Brood may refer to: Nature * Brood, a collective term for offspring * Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents * Bee brood, the young of a beehive * Individual broods of North American periodical cicadas: ** Brood X, the largest br ...

s per year, two seasonal forms occur. Spring forms are usually lightly marked and resemble confused cloudywings ('' Thorybes confusis''). Summer forms tend to be more boldly marked, by comparison, making identification easier. However, summer confused cloudywings are also strongly patterned, which makes identifying them more difficult. Their rapid flight is very erratic, though it is closer to the ground than in some of its close relatives.Rick Cech and Guy Tudor (2005). ''Butterflies of the East Coast''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Description

On average, the southern cloudywing is usually slightly smaller than the northern cloudywing ('' Thorybes pylades'') and about the same size as the confused cloudywing. The palps are whitish with a white ring around the eye. A white spot is seen on the bend of the antennal club.Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). ''Butterflies of North America''. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY. Males lack a fore wing costal fold. The upper side of the wings is dark brown with the fore wing submarginal area having an aligned row of glassy white spots. Near the fore wing costa is a conspicuous spot in the shape of an hourglass (in spring forms this spot is lacking). In the subapical area are three to four spots that are either all connected as if they were one mark (summer form) or with the bottom spot slightly offset (spring form). The underside of the wings is mottled dark brown with two darker brown bands. In some cases, the hind wing may have a variable amount of frosting near the margin. Its

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 ...

measures .Ernest M. Shull (1987). ''The Butterflies of Indiana''. Indiana Academy of Science.

Similar species

Similar species in the southern cloudywings range include the northern cloudywing and the confused cloudywing. The northern cloudywing has brown palps, the white ring around the eye is not continuous, and males have a fore wing costal fold. The confused cloudywing has grayish-white palps, lacks the white spot on the bend of the antennal club, and on the upper side of the fore wing the subapical spots are more loosely connected with the bottom spot quite offset.

Habitat

This butterfly may be found in a variety of open habitats such as along streams, meadows, savannas, scrubby fields, and woodlands.

Flight

This species is on the wing from June to mid-July in the north and March to November in the south.James A. Scott (1986). ''The Butterflies of North America''. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.

Lifecycle

Males are highly territorial and are known to use the same perch throughout their adult lifespans. Females lay their pale green

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

singly on the underside of host plant leaves. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

lives in a leaf shelter by rolling or tying leaves together with

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

. The larva is brown with a greenish hue. It has a dark mid-dorsal stripe and has a pale lateral line. The head and collar are both black. The

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

is either greenish with brown markings or a dull brown color. It

overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...

s as a mature larva. The southern cloudywing has one brood per year in the north and two or three broods in the south.

Host plants

The list of host plants used by the southern cloudywing includes: * Potato bean, ''

Apios americana ''Apios americana'', sometimes called the American groundnut, potato bean, hopniss, Indian potato, hodoimo, America-hodoimo, cinnamon vine, or groundnut (not to be confused with other plants in the subfamily Faboideae sometimes known by that na ...

'' * Ozark milkvetch, '' Astragalus distortus'' var. ''engelmannii'' * Butterfly pea, ''

Bradburya virginiana ''Centrosema'', the butterfly peas, is a genus of (mainly tropical) American vines in the legume family (Fabaceae). It includes 44 species, which range through the tropical and warm-temperate Americas from the southern United States to northern A ...

'' * Spurred butterfly pea, '' Centrosema virginianum'' * Hairy small-leaved tick-trefoil, '' Desmodium ciliare'' * Panicled tick-trefoil, ''

Desmodium paniculatum ''Desmodium paniculatum'', the panicled-leaf ticktrefoil, narrow-leaf tick-trefoil or panicled tickclover, is a perennial herb in the pea family, Fabaceae. Belonging to a nearly cosmopolitan genus, the panicled-leaf ticktrefoil is a common nativ ...

'' * Round-leaved tick-trefoil, ''

Desmodium rotundifolium ''Desmodium'' is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae, sometimes called tick-trefoil, tick clover, hitch hikers or beggar lice. There are dozens of species and the delimitation of the genus has shifted much over time. Species are distr ...

'' * Roundhead lespedeza, ''

Lespedeza capitata ''Lespedeza'' is a genus of some 45 species (including nothospecies) of flowering plants in the pea family (Fabaceae), commonly known as bush clovers or (particularly East Asian species) Japanese clovers (''hagi''). The genus is native to warm t ...

'' * Hairy lespedeza, ''

Lespedeza hirta ''Lespedeza hirta'', the hairy lespedeza or hairy bush clover, is a perennial forb native to Ontario and the eastern United States. It grows at most three feet high. It has inconspicuous small white blooms in the summer and prefers average to dry ...

'' * Slender lespedeza, ''

Lespedeza virginica ''Lespedeza virginica'', known as slender bush clover or slender lespedeza, is a species of flowering plant native to much of the United States, as well as Ontario, Canada, and Nuevo León, Mexico. It is a member of the bean family, Fabaceae. D ...

'' * Twining snoutbean, ''

Rhynchosia tomentosa ''Rhynchosia tomentosa'', commonly known as the twining snoutbean is a species of plant in the legume family. It is native to the Southeastern United States, where it is primarily found in dry, open woodlands and sandhills. It is a perennial th ...

'' * Amberique-bean, ''

Strophostyles helvola ''Strophostyles helvola'', commonly called amberique-bean, annual sand bean, or trailing fuzzybean is a species of flowering plant in the legume family. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern United States.Strophostyles leiosperma ''Strophostyles leiosperma'', known as slickseed fuzzybean, or smoothseed / small-flower wildbean is a species of herbaceous, vining legume native to the central to western U.S. It occurs west to Colorado and New Mexico, east to Louisiana, south ...

'' * Florida hoarypea, ''

Tephrosia florida ''Tephrosia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It is widespread in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere, where it is found in tropical and warm-temperate regions. The generic name is derived from the Greek word τεφ� ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorybes Bathyllus Butterflies of North America Thorybes Butterflies described in 1797 Taxa named by James Edward Smith