Red Car Property: Black Butterfly - New To The Neighborhood

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 28, 2015.  For the past month and for the first time,  I'd been seeing these 1.5-inch, black to black-brown butterflies with a narrow band of white on edge of their rear wings.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

They are very hard to get a photo of, as they are in constant motion.  Since they were new to me, I consulted Dan Cooper, biologist, Cooper Ecological. He confirmed, "It's a skipper, called a Funereal Duskywing. Actually the duskywings are tough to tell apart, but funereal seems to be the dominant 'urban' one."

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 28, 2015.  Wild radish flowers have been attracting all kinds of butterflies, particularly on the north end of the Red Car Property.  Cooper added, "They love legumes, especially deerweed, but probably nectar on just about anything."

This particular duskywing was more brownish.  Most of what appears to be the same species were very black little butterflies.  That's what caught my attention.

Read more: 2011-2012 Common Butterflies of Griffith Park Field Guide