Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus) Life Cycle
Caterpillar Host: Pitseed Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlanderi), Lambsquarters (Chenopodium album), Amaranths (Amaranthus) and Cockscomb (Celosia). FYI: Chenopodium is malodorous.
Butterfly Food: Flower nectar
Family: Skippers - Hesperiidae
Scientific Name: Pholisora catullus
Found throughout the United States. Prefers open fields, roadsides, vacant lots and pastures.
Dorsal view - glossy black with tiny white spots on outer forewing. Fresh individuals have a purplish to dark blue iridescent sheen. Worn individuals appear slightly brown to gray.
Wingspan: 2.5 to 3.3 centimeters
Females lay eggs singly on top of host plant leaf. Caterpillars live and feed within refugiums (folded over and silked closed leaf nest).
