Family:Hesperiidae
Family
Description:
Alternate Common Name: Saltgrass Skipper.
Range:
This species ranges from southern British Columbia south through Washington
and parts of Idaho to southern and
Baja California, extending east as far as Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.
Habitat:
It can be found in a number of habitats, including dunes,
marshes, alkali flats, meadows, and sagebrush steppe.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of a variety of grasses (Family Poaceae).
Adult: Butterflies drink flower nectar.
Ecology:
The number of generations of caterpillars each year varies with location,
from one to two in the north to many in the south. Caterpillars construct nests from leaves tied with
silk. Pupae of the last generation of the growing
season overwinter in a physiological state called diapause. Adults generally fly from March to November
(July to August at high elevations). The butterflies when at rest are found
with their forewings partially open and their hindwings fully open.
Reproduction:
Males perch
to wait for receptive females. Females lay bluish green eggs singly on or near
host plants.
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.