False Duskywing (Gesta gesta [Herrich-Schäffer])
Wing span: 15/16 - 1 3/8 inches (2.4 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside brown-black with darker bands; forewing with blue-gray submarginal band and a dark patch overlapping the cell.
Life history: Adults stay near the host plants, where females lay eggs. Caterpillars rest during the day in leaf nests and come out at night to feed on leaves. Fully-grown caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: Four broods from April-November in South Texas; all year southward.
Caterpillar hosts: Wild indigo (Indigofera suffruticosa and I. lindheimeriana) in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Tropical open areas including thornscrub, dry riverbeds, and abandoned fields.
Range: Argentina north through tropical America to the West Indies and South Texas. A stray to east Texas.
