''Erynnis martialis'', commonly known as the mottled duskywing, is a species of

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 ...

. It is found in most of the eastern United States and in southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and southeastern

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

.COSEWIC. 2012
COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Mottled Duskywing ''Erynnis martialis'' in Canada
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xiv+35 pp. Consulted on February 13th, 2018. It is listed as a species of special concern and believed

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

in the US state of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. 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 25–29 mm. There can be two generations from mid-May to late August.Mottled Duskywing
Butterflies of Canada The larvae feed on wild lilacs including New Jersey tea (''

Ceanothus americanus ''Ceanothus americanus'' is a species of ''Ceanothus'' shrub native to North America. Common names include New Jersey tea, Jersey tea ceanothus, variations of red root (red-root; redroot), mountain sweet (mountain-sweet; mountainsweet), and wild ...

'') and redroot (''

Ceanothus herbaceus ''Ceanothus herbaceus'', also known as Jersey tea, is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae and is similar to '' Ceanothus americanus'' and '' Ceanothus sanguineus''. It is a perennial shrub which is native to North America. Synonyms As f ...

'') in the buckthorn family (

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large Family (biology), family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 specie ...

). Adults feed on nectar from flowers of Bush houstonia, Gromwell, '' Verbena stricta'' and other plants. Main threats posed to mottled duskywing populations are

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, fragmentation and

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

control measures.

Urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

, suburban sprawl, agriculture and logging have destroyed many oak savanna habitats that the mottled duskywing rely on. The spraying of

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

and

carbaryl Carbaryl (1-naphthyl methylcarbamate) is a chemical in the carbamate family used chiefly as an insecticide. It is a white crystalline solid previously sold under the brand name Sevin, which was a trademark of the Bayer Company. Union Carbide disc ...

to control the population of the invasive

gypsy moth ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae native to Europe and Asia. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as '' L. d. dispar'' ...

also pose a major threat to the success of the species.

References

External links

Mottled Duskywing
Nearctica
Mottled Duskywing
BugGuide
Mottled Duskywing
Butterflies and Moths of North America Erynnis Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1869 Taxa named by Samuel Hubbard Scudder Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Canada {{Pyrginae-stub