Horace's Duskywing in Toronto

[b...@kryukich.on.ca]

Today, during a visit to High Park along with my wife Karen, I found and photographed a fresh male Horace's Duskywing nectaring in a flower bed along the south end of Colborne Lodge Drive. This is only the second record of this species for Toronto. Horace's Duskywing, a rare southern immigrant from the US, is more often found in the southwestern part of the province at locations such as Point Pelee.

Cheers

Bob

[Peter Hall halljp@rogers.com]

Hi Bob:

Thanks so much for the heads up about the Horace's Duskywing. I got to the location in High Park  early afternoon and after about a half hour of searching, I found the skipper which actively circled about the garden nectaring on a variety of flower species. I got some great photos , including several of the underside which showed the greenish gloss of a very fresh specimen (below). Normally not a breeding species in Ontario, this one may have recently emerged locally, so it will be interesting to see if there may be others about.

Cheers

Peter Hall