Page 86 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World
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BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS
FAMILY Hesperiidae
DISTRIBUTION Western North America, from British Columbia to
Baja California
HABITAT Open oak woodlands
HOST PLANTS Oak (Quercus spp.)
NOTE Oak leaf-folding caterpillar of a spring-flying butterfly
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common
ADULT WINGSPAN
1⁄–1¾ in (40–44 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1–1⅛ in (25–28 mm)
ERYNNIS PROPERTIUS
PROPERTIUS DUSKYWING
84
(SCUDDER & BURGESS, 1870)
Propertius Duskywing caterpillars hatch through the top of eggs
laid singly on both surfaces of young oak leaves and buds some
seven to eight days earlier. Newly hatched caterpillars construct
shelters, creating leaf flaps by cutting two parallel channels in
a leaf, then folding over and silking down the flap. The larvae
emerge to feed primarily at night, skeletonizing nearby leaves,
Actual size
and rest by day in the shelter. Prepupal caterpillars form a silked
cocoon in a folded leaf and overwinter within it. Pupation occurs
in the spring, with adults emerging within a couple of weeks.
Survival of the caterpillars is based on concealment, although
some predators, such as minute pirate bugs (Anthocoridae),
are able to enter the shelters. There is usually a single annual
The Propertius Duskywing caterpillar is whitish generation of Propertius Duskywing butterflies appearing in
green with well-de ned, dorsolateral, white early spring, but sometimes a partial second generation occurs.
stripes and white spotting. The head is orange,
either with indistinct brown and reddish Males often congregate on moist mud, and both sexes nectar on
markings or, in some individuals, bolder and
distinctive markings. Such variation in head many kinds of spring flowers.
coloring is characteristic of this species.
