Gesta juvenalis,[2] commonly known as Juvenal's duskywing, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.

Juvenal's duskywing
Ottawa, Ontario

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Gesta
Species:
G. juvenalis
Binomial name
Gesta juvenalis
(Fabricius, 1793)
Synonyms

Erynnis juvenalis

Appearance and distribution

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Underside view

It is common in eastern North American oak woods from southern Manitoba to southern Quebec and Nova Scotia southward to Texas and Florida. This dark-brown skipper is larger than most eastern duskywings (wingspan: 30 to 37 mm). It has one brood in the spring (May to late June) in the east but two broods in spring and summer in the southwest. Both sexes have two to four white spots on the forewing. The females have grayer forewings and are more boldly marked. Both sexes have two spots near the upper margins of the ventral side of hindwings that are diagnostic of the species.[3][4] Larval food plant: oaks

Similar species

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References

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  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Erynnis juvenalis Juvenal's Duskywing". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Gesta j. juvenalis (Fabricius, 1793)". www.butterfliesofamerica.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  3. ^ Jim P. Brock and K. Kaufman. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, New York, NY:Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
  4. ^ Juvenal's Duskywing, Butterflies of Canada