Black and blue skipper

working on an ID, but I'm pretty sure, at least, that it is a skipper and thinking that it is more specifically a duskywing. I believe this is a Persius duskywing. There are two other species that look identical and can only be separated by microscopic evaluation, but fortunately for me, their ranges don't cover this area.

comments (2)

Vodkaman

Lion

I agree, definitely Erynnis, but I could not find a good match.

Probably Erynnis propertius, common and listed for Washington.
http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/Erynnis/propertius

Dave Posted 9 years ago
1. morpheme
  
  Lion
  
  That does look very near, doesn't it. The only thing that gives me a bit of pause, is that it appears to need oak trees and I don't know that there are any oaks in the area- it's mostly conifers. Oaks are relatively uncommon as far as I know. I'll have to do a bit more digging around and see if anyone has reported them in the same area. Posted 9 years ago