Gesta persius borealis

Persius Duskywing

The Persius duskywing just enters southern California in the Kern Plateau, and is in the Greenhorn Mountains according to Ken Davenport; I've seen it on the Sherman Pass Road. According to most sources, it is single brooded, flying in the summer, in most of its range. This also appears to be a user of Fabaceae-family plants, at least through most of its range. In DNA work by the Grishin lab from 2019*, persius clustered closely with afranius, baptisiae, and lucilius, and less closely with funeralis and zarucco, which are closely related to each other. Interestingly, all of these feed as caterpillars on certain members of the Fabaceae or Ranunculaceae families. Other species still considered by the authors to be within the genus Gesta fell into two other clades: six that feed on oaks, and two that feed on Ceanothus.

* Zhang et al. "Changes to North American Butterfly Names." The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey 8(2).

Gesta persius borealis - Persius Duskywing
The Persius duskywing, Erynnis persius borealis, at Alder Creek along Sherman Pass Rd. in Tulare Co. This looks like a male. July 19, 2012.
Original description of Gesta persius borealis - Persius Duskywing
The original description is by Merritt Cary in 1907. The journal is Proceedings of the United States National Museum.

©Dennis Walker