Florida Duskywing (Ephyriades brunneus [Herrich-Schäffer])
Wing span: 1 5/8 - 1 7/8 inches (4.2 - 4.8 cm).
Identification: Male upperside is black with a silky sheen and a circle of white transparent spots near the apex. Female upperside is brown with dark mottling and outer margins; forewing has more and larger transparent spots than the male.
Life history: To wait for females, males perch in full sunlight about 1 1/2 feet above the ground on bare twigs. Eggs are deposited on leaves and young shoots of the host plants. Caterpillars feed on leaves and rest in leaf shelters.
Flight: Many flights throughout the year in southern Florida.
Caterpillar hosts: Key byrsonima (Byrsonima lucida) and Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of low plants and flowering shrubs including Bidens alba, Croton granduosus, and Lantana involucrata.
Habitat: Tropical pine-Sabal palm scrub.
Range: Tropical southern Florida and the Keys; the West Indies. A rare stray to Honduras.
