Northern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia egeremet [Scudder])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/2 inches (2.5 - 3.9 cm).
Identification: Upperside is dark brown. Male forewing has a cream spot at the end of the cell, and a divided stigma (the "broken dash"); female forewing has a few elongated cream spots. Underside is dark brown or purple-brown; hindwing has a pale band of spots.
Life history: Adults have a slow flight. Males perch up to 6 feet above ground to wait for females, usually in the early morning. Caterpillars eat leaves; half-grown caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from June-August; two broods from May-October in the Deep South and east Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Panic grasses including deertongue grass (Panicum clandestinum) and P. dichotomum.
Adult food: Nectar from white, pink, or purple flowers is favored including dogbane, red clover, New Jersey tea, and sweet pepperbush. Many other flowers are visited.
Habitat: Open places near woods or scrub.
Range: Southern Maine and southern Ontario west across the Great Lakes states to southeastern North Dakota; south to central Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southeast Texas.
