Family:Hesperiidae
Family
Description:
Alternate Common Names:Dun
Sedge Skipper, Sedge Witch.
Note: This species is also referred to as Euphyes ruricola
by some authors.
Range:
This species has a fairly extensive range, from the southeastern portion of
Canada west to southeastern Alberta, south through the eastern half of the U.S.
to central Texas. Isolated populations also occur along the Pacific coast, in
the Rockies, and in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. In Idaho,
it has only been documented in Idaho and Clearwater counties.
Habitat:
It can be found in moist, open areas, such as meadows, open
woods, and along swamps and streams.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of certain sedges including Carex
and Cyperus species.
Adult: Butterflies drink nectar mostly from white, pink, and purple flowers.
Ecology:
Caterpillars live in nests of leaves and silk. Each year, there is only one generation
of caterpillars in the northern part of its range, two in the middle and several
in the south. Young caterpillars, those from the seasons last brood, overwinter
in a physiological state called diapause. Adults generally fly from June to early
August. Butterflies rest with their forewings held up while their hindwings
lie flat.
Reproduction:
Males perch to
wait for receptive females. Females lay light green eggs singly on the leaves
of host plants.
The eggs change to a red color before hatching.
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.