New Jersey Butterfly Club

Black Dash

Euphyes conspicua

Identification: Very small—FW ≥0.6". Sexes similar below. Above: Male FW with prominent black stigma ("black dash") in orange field with wide, very dark trailing borders; HW also with dark borders, and central pale or orange patch that mirrors ventral pattern. Female mainly dark above, with pale "bracelet" and several pale spots across FW; HW may have pale splotch mirroring ventral pattern. Below: Both sexes have bright rusty-brown HW with large, rather vague, yellowish patch that widens in the center. Similar skippers: Dion male above is very similar, perhaps best told by the streak (rather than blotch) on HW that mirrors ventral mark. Female above may have larger, more yellowish marks on FW than Dion, and likewise a blotch rather than a streak on the HW. Often flies in Tussock Sedge-dominated wetlands with Mulberry Wing, which is all dark above, and below has HW patch below sharply defined in the shape of an airplane. Northern Broken-Dash is brown below, lacking the rusty color, and HW patch is in the shape of a "3." Dion Skipper has 2 pale streaks across the HW below.

NJ Status and Distribution: Resident. Uncommon and local in the northern counties, unreported in the south since 2009.

Habitat: Sedgy marshes, fens, and wet meadows. May be attracted to flowers in nearby gardens.

Flight Period: One brood, late June to late July. Extreme dates: North Jersey 6/24—7/31; South Jersey most recent records 6/27/2009 and 7/19/2009.

Caterpillar Food Plants: Tussock Sedge (Carex stricta) in NJ; elsewhere may use other species of Carex.

Overwintering Stage: Early-instar caterpillar.

Good Locations: Great Swamp NWR, Troy Meadows, Passaic River Park, Adiguizelli Tract, Lord Stirling Park, Appalachian Trail Lands.