Thorybes bathyllus
Size:
Wingspan is 1 5/16 - 1 7/8 inches.
Similar Species:
Northern Cloudywing
Confused Cloudywing (rare)
Habitat:
Power line clearings, gardens, old fields, roadsides, pine/oak scrub and
woodland borders. Prefers dry places over wet places.
Range/Abundance:
Common in the coastal plain, sandhills
and most of the piedmont. Rare to uncommon in the mountains.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from early April until early October in two broods with a slight
gap between broods.
Larval Host Plants:
Legumes including beggar's ticks Desmodium, bush clover Lespedeza,
clover Trifolium, milkvetch Astragalus, fuzzybean Strophostyles,
and wild bean Glycine.
Comments:
Sometimes all three species of cloudywing can be seen together in the
sandhills. Northern Cloudywing
is found in the same places as Southern Cloudywing and in the spring they
are more difficult to tell apart as both species are poorly marked in
the spring.
The whitish patch on the bend of the antennal club and whitish face are the best way to tell Southern Cloudywing from Northern Cloudywing.
The top and second photos were taken in Scotland Co., NC on April 20,2003. The third photo was taken in Caswell Co., NC on August 04, 2002. The bottom photo was taken in Caswell Co., NC on July 30, 2004.
