Butterflies of North Carolina:
their Distribution and Abundance
Common Name: Scientific Name:
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Scientific Name begins with:
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Number of records: 250,607
Related Species in HESPERIIDAE:
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Common NameSleepy Duskywing by Ted Wilcox => 04/21/06 - Watauga County, NC - female
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Scientific NameErynnis brizo
Link to BAMONA species account.
MapClick on a county for list of all database records for the species in that county.
Flight Chart
Common NameSleepy Duskywing
Scientific NameErynnis brizo
DistributionDISTRIBUTION: Throughout the Mountains, and essentially all of the Piedmont, plus at least the southern portion of the Coastal Plain. The range in the northern 60% of the Coastal Plain needs study; however, it seems to be absent in most of the northern Coastal Plain. (Reference books shading in the range for the entire state are making an error in judgment.)
AbundanceABUNDANCE: Fairly common in the Mountains, and uncommon to fairly common in the Sandhills; but surprisingly is rare to uncommon in the intervening Piedmont. Rare to uncommon in the southern Coastal Plain (outside of the Sandhills), but very rare northward, seemingly absent in the northern Coastal Plain. The species is under-reported because of its brief flight period and possibly because of its similarity to other duskywing species. Despite its favoring dry and often sandy places, it is more numerous in the Mountains than downstate.
FlightFLIGHT PERIOD: A single spring brood; the latter half of March to early or mid-May downstate, and the latter half of March to early June in the Mountains. It flies earlier, by one to three weeks, than does the Dreamy Duskywing, though the flights overlap in much of April and early May.
HabitatHABITAT: This duskywing likes dry places. It is found near clearcuts, margins of dry woods, rock outcrops, open mountaintops, sandy pinewoods, and especially along dirt roads, powerline clearings, and trails through such dry scrubby and woody areas. It is never found in or very near wetlands, nor is it usually found in forest interiors. In the Mountains, it occurs in mesic forest openings more so than downstate.
PlantsFOOD AND NECTAR PLANTS: The foodplants are oaks (Quercus spp.), primarily those characteristic of xeric habitats. The adults nectar to some extent but are seen mainly perched on the ground, such as on dirt roads and trails.
CommentsCOMMENTS: This species often gets lost among the hordes of Juvenal's Duskywings. Usually you must pick through the Juvenal's to find a Sleepy, often 10 to 50 of them before you find one or two. Your chances are better in very dry scrubby places, whereas sorting through the duskywings along roads through bottomlands or edges of damp woods will usually fail to reveal the Sleepies. Very seldom are Sleepies seen without many more Juvenal's being present! In the Mountains, care must be taken, as the more numerous (but smaller) Dreamy Duskywing can often be confused with the Sleepy Duskywing; also, they are frequently seen in the same habitats and at the same time of year (though the Sleepy flight period averages earlier than that of the Dreamy).
State Status (first) and Rank (second)none - S5
Federal Status (first) and Global Rank (second)none - G5
Synonym
Other Name
Links to other butterfly galleries: [Cook] [Lynch] [Pippen] [Pugh]
Photo Gallery for Sleepy Duskywing
Photo by: Ted Wilcox
Comment: 6-May-2005, Ashe County - male
Sleepy Duskywing - Click to enlarge 		Photo by: Rick Cheicante
Comment: 2016-04-17. Richmond Co.
Sleepy Duskywing - Click to enlarge
Photo by: Will Stuart
Comment: 2018-Apr-06. Annual Burn Site, Scotland Lane, Scotland County; male
Sleepy Duskywing - Click to enlarge 		Photo by: Will Stuart
Comment: Sandhills Game Land, Richmond County. 29-March-2017; male
Sleepy Duskywing - Click to enlarge
Photo by: Sven Halling
Comment: Apr 9, 2012, Pilot Mountain State Park, Surry Co.; female
Sleepy Duskywing - Click to enlarge