Duskywings
This is a Horace's Duskywing on echinacea. This species flies from April through September. In the summer months, their closest look-alike species is the Wild Indigo Duskywing. The main difference is that a Horace's Duskywing has a single white dot (glassy cell) near the center of each forewing, whereas Wild Indigo Duskywings typically lack this dot.
This is a Horace's Duskywing on a faded coneflower. Some Horace's Duskywings have a heavily mottled wing pattern, particularly the females.
Juvenal's Duskywing, photographed April 19, 2016. This is a spring-flying species. They fly near wooded areas in April and May.
This is a Wild Indigo Duskywing on echinacea. This species flies from April through October. It is probably the most common duskywing in our area. Notice that it lacks the single white dot near the center of the forewing.
This butterfly is a Funereal Duskywing, a rare stray to Ohio. Funereal Duskywings typically live in the southwestern U.S., but there have been a handful of reported sightings in northeastern states in recent years. Some researchers think that this species might be expanding its range. The gleaming white border on the hindwings is a distinctive feature.
I have found three Funereal Duskywings, all at Cox Arboretum and all in the month of September: September 11, 2015, September 8, 2017, and September 1, 2018.
Female Juvenal's Duskywing, photographed April 14, 2021 at Germantown MetroPark. Juvenal's Duskywings closely resemble Horace's Duskywings (below). These two species can be difficult to separate in the spring months. However, if you see one in June or later, it is probably a Horace's Duskywing because Juvenal's Duskywings only fly in the spring.
This is a Dreamy Duskywing, photographed April 24, 2022 at Oakes Quarry in Fairborn. This is my only sighting of the species to date. Both the Dreamy Duskywing and the similar Sleepy Duskywing (below) lack white spots on their wings. This trait sets them apart from the 4 species above.
This Sleepy Duskywing was photographed April 29, 2022 at Hocking Hills (eastern Ohio). Sleepy Duskywings are slightly larger than Dreamy Duskywings. They have a more prominent chain band on their forewings and shorter palps. There are historical records of Sleepy Duskywings occurring in our area, including Montgomery and Greene Counties, but I have never seen Sleepy Duskywings in our part of the state.