70 Records

Some useful notes from Rick Cheicante, who has a record from each of our three western counties for 2012 (new county record for Garrett): "All in the first half of June... The Hoary Edge is becoming exceeding rare in Maryland, as if they weren't tough to get already. If you haven't seen these before, there is no mistaking them with Silver-spotted Skipper. Of course, if you're looking at both up close, well they would be obviously different. But even in a glimpse, there is nothing similar about these two species. The habitat size, location, flight and overall base color are quite different. For starters, the Hoary Edge is slightly, but notably smaller. Where the Silver-spotted Skipper has a tawny/orange-gold appearance in flight, the Hoary Edge is dark chocolate brown. While the Silver-spotted Skipper nectars or alights tamely from waist-high and up as we're accustomed, the Hoary Edge is a more skittish ground dweller preferring the damp soil along creek borders. When the Silver-spotted Skipper flits to a new location, the Hoary Edge scrambles erratically eventually settling into a 'bouncing' flight across the vegetation and exposed areas of a stream bank. At the chance of an unsuspecting glimpse of a Hoary Edge, one may think a duskywing has just been spooked. The difference: duskywings usually land quickly again. The Hoary Edge can be approached with patience, but if it goes, the hopeful observer may be in trouble. I swear, you can lose this guy in a blink. This has been my experiences, and for that, I hoped to maybe create a helpful search image."

Host plants include various species in the Pea Family.