Family:Hesperiidae
Family
Description:
Alternate Common Name: Rocky Mountain Skipper.
Range:
This species ranges from the Yukon Territory, south through British Columbia
and Alberta, through the Rocky Mountains to Arizona and New Mexico. In Idaho, it occurs primarily in the central and southeastern
portions of the state.
Habitat:
It can be found in high elevation meadows, along streams,
and in wet valleys.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Records are sparse, but caterpillars are believed to feed on a variety of
grasses (Family Poaceae).
Adult: Butterflies drink flower nectar, often from yellow flowers belonging to the sunflower family (Asteraceae).
Ecology:
There is one generation of caterpillars each summer. The overwintering
stage is unreported. Adults generally fly from early June to early August.
At rest, these butterflies are found with their forewings partially open and
their hindwings fully open. Though little is known or reported about its ecology,
this is one of the most common skippers in the western U.S.
Reproduction:
Males perch to
wait for receptive females. Females are believed to lay eggs on host plants
but this has yet to be confirmed.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5
populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. |
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.