Poanes
taxiles
Taxiles Skipper
Range:
This species ranges from eastern Wyoming and western South Dakota and Nebraska
south through Colorado and New Mexico across the border to northern Mexico;
it also occurs from extreme southeastern Idaho
south in a narrow strip to southern Utah and northern Arizona.
Habitat:
It can be found in valleys and gulches, grassy fields, and
in forest openings.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of a variety of grasses, including bluegrass
(Poa spp.), wheatgrass (Agropyron spp.), and orchard grass (Dactylis
spp.).
Adult: Butterflies drink flower nectar.
Ecology:
There is one generation of caterpillars each summer. Caterpillars
construct nests
of leaves tied with silk.
The overwintering stage is unreported. Adults generally fly from mid-June through
august. At rest, these butterflies are found with their forewings partially
open and their hindwings fully open. Adult males may be territorial. Additionally, they
are often active during cloudy weather, an uncommon behavior for butterflies.
Reproduction:
Males perch to
wait for receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on the leaves of host plants.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5
populations levels are secure, but may be of concern in the future. |
Opler, P. A., H. Pavulaan, and R. E. Stanford. 1995. Butterflies of North America. Jamestown, North Dakota, USA: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm (Version 05Nov98).
Opler, P. A. and A. B.Wright. 1999. A Field Guide to the Western Butterflies. Second Edition. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, New York, USA, 540 pp.
Pyle, R. M. 1981. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, New York, USA, 924 pp.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, USA, 583 pp.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western U.S.A. Butterflies (Including Adjacent Parts of Canada and Mexico). Published by authors, Denver, Colorado, USA, 275 pp.