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| List: Carolina-Leps Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2026 18:19:37 -0400 From: Harry LeGrand (via carolinaleps Mailing List) <carolinaleps...> Subject: Re: Yancey County (Mt. Mitchell) 7/30/26 |
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--000000000000a7ae5f0658400d5c Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Glad to see that Green Comma is still there, and fresh at that. Wish folks could find them at other places in the mountains! Your duskywing is indeed a Horace's, a female. Females shouldn't cause confusion with Wild Indigo, as they are strongly mottled on the basal 60% of the forewing; very blotchy. Male Horace's are more solidly brown, but still show some slight black blotching. On the male, the wrist is still a similar brown and the wing tips are brown -- little contrast. Wild Indigo has a grayish (male) or buffy (female) wrist and is very dark brown on the basal 60%, with some gray scales near the wingtip. Thus, on a WIDW, the forewing is darker on the inner half and lighter on the outer half. At least up there, you really don't need to separate out Zarucco DW -- a tricky species to separate from both Horace's and WI downstate. Harry LeGrand On Tue, Aug 4, 2026 at 1:20=E2=80=AFPM Heather Rayburn <carolinaleps...>= du> wrote: > Last Thursday was perfect weather for Mt. Mitchell. Started at 64-degrees= , > mostly clear, little wind. On the drive up from Asheville, I saw lots of > Pipevines and some Tigers. There were also many dead butterflies in the > road. I checked four of them (Pipevines). The roadsides once I turned int= o > the MOMI road were bursting with Cutleaf Coneflower and Thistle. This vid= eo > doesn=E2=80=99t really capture the beauty of it, but it=E2=80=99s my best= try: > > *MOMI Pipevine/Thistle parties > <https://www.flickr.com/photos/190206870@N03/55440721051/in/datetaken/>*. > > > *Blooms:* Scarlet Bee Balm, Mtn. Dwarf Dandelion, St. John=E2=80=99s Wart= , Joe > Pye, Saxifrage, Three-tooted Cinquefoil, Pink Turtlehead, Cutleaf > Coneflower, Thistle, etc. > > Pipevine Swallowtails, 150+ > Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, 12+ (I had about four dark form.) > Orange Sulphur, 1 > Summer Azure, 2 > Eastern Tailed-Blue, 2 > Great Spangled Fritillary, 1 > Fritillary sp., 3 (including one that was either a Varigated or Meadow) > GREEN COMMA <https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/388004187>, 1 > (Super fresh!) > Comma sp., 3 > Red Admiral, 1 > Pearl Crescent, 1 > Horace=E2=80=99s Duskywing <https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3882= 27808>, > 3 (I=E2=80=99m having trouble distinguishing this species from Wild Indig= o) > Sachem, 1 > > Cheers, > Heather Rayburn > Asheville > > --000000000000a7ae5f0658400d5c Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div dir=3D"ltr"><div>Glad to see that Green Comma is still there, and fres= h at that. Wish folks could find them at other places in the mountains!</di= v><div><br></div><div>Your duskywing is indeed a Horace's, a female. Fe= males=C2=A0shouldn't cause confusion with Wild Indigo, as they are stro= ngly mottled on the basal 60% of the forewing; very blotchy. Male Horace= 9;s are more solidly brown, but still show some slight black blotching. On = the male, the wrist is still a similar brown=C2=A0and the wing tips are bro= wn -- little contrast. Wild Indigo has a grayish (male) or buffy (female) w= rist and is very dark brown on the basal 60%, with some gray scales near th= e wingtip.=C2=A0 Thus, on a WIDW, the forewing is darker on the inner half = and lighter on the outer=C2=A0half.=C2=A0 At least up there, you really don= 't need to separate out Zarucco DW -- a tricky species=C2=A0to separate= from both Horace's and WI downstate.</div><div><br></div><div>Harry Le= Grand</div></div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div = dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">On Tue, Aug 4, 2026 at 1:20=E2=80=AFPM Hea= ther Rayburn <<a href=3D"mailto:<carolinaleps...>">carolinaleps@duke= .edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"mar= gin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1= ex"><div>Last Thursday was perfect weather for Mt. Mitchell. Started at 64-= degrees, mostly clear, little wind. On the drive up from Asheville, I saw l= ots of Pipevines and some Tigers. There were also many dead butterflies in = the road. I checked four of them (Pipevines). The roadsides once I turned i= nto the MOMI road were bursting with Cutleaf Coneflower and Thistle. This v= ideo doesn=E2=80=99t really capture the beauty of it, but it=E2=80=99s my b= est try:<b>=C2=A0</b><div><br></div><div><b><a href=3D"https://www.flickr.c= om/photos/190206870@N03/55440721051/in/datetaken/" originalSrc=3D"https://w= ww.flickr.com/photos/190206870@N03/55440721051/in/datetaken/" target=3D"_bl= ank">MOMI Pipevine/Thistle parties</a></b>.<div><br></div><div><br></div><d= iv><b>Blooms:</b> Scarlet Bee Balm, Mtn. Dwarf Dandelion, St. John=E2=80=99= s Wart, Joe Pye, Saxifrage, Three-tooted Cinquefoil, Pink Turtlehead, Cutle= af Coneflower, Thistle, etc.</div></div><div><br></div><div>Pipevine Swallo= wtails, 150+</div><div>Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, 12+ (I had about four dar= k form.)</div><div>Orange Sulphur, 1</div><div>Summer Azure, 2</div><div>Ea= stern Tailed-Blue, 2</div><div>Great Spangled Fritillary, 1</div><div>Friti= llary sp., 3 (including one that was either a Varigated or Meadow)</div><di= v><a href=3D"https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/388004187" originalSr= c=3D"https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/388004187" target=3D"_blank">= GREEN COMMA</a>, 1 (Super fresh!)</div><div>Comma sp., 3</div><div>Red Admi= ral, 1</div><div>Pearl Crescent, 1</div><div><a href=3D"https://www.inatura= list.org/observations/388227808" originalSrc=3D"https://www.inaturalist.org= /observations/388227808" target=3D"_blank">Horace=E2=80=99s Duskywing</a>, = 3 (I=E2=80=99m having trouble distinguishing this species from Wild Indigo)= </div><div>Sachem, 1</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div>Heather Ray= burn</div><div>Asheville</div><div><br></div></div></blockquote></div> --000000000000a7ae5f0658400d5c-- |
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