Ocola skipper (Panoquina ocola)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

FAMILY: Skippers (Hesperiidae)
SUBFAMILY: Grass Skippers (Hesperiinae)

IDENTIFICATION: Forewings are long, projecting far beyond the
hindwings when the butterfly is at rest. Upperside of wings is
dark brown; forewing with some pale spots. Underside of hindwing
is brown with no markings; female has a blue-purple iridescent sheen.

LIFE HISTORY: Flight is rapid and adults may feed while hanging upside
down from flowers.

FLIGHT: In warm summer months in the north; August-October in
Arizona; throughout the year in Florida and South Texas.

WING SPAN: 1 3/8 - 1 11/16 inches (3.5 - 4.3 cm).

CATERPILLAR HOSTS: Rice (Oryza sativa), sugarcane (Saccharum
officinarum), and trompetilla grass (Hymenachne amplexicaulis).

ADULT FOOD: Nectar from flowers of lantana, shepherd\'s needle,
swamp milkweed, buttonbush, and pickerelweed.

HABITAT: Low damp fields and pastures.

RANGE: Resident from Paraguay north through tropical America and
the West Indies to South Texas and the Deep South. Strays north to
southeast Arizona, west Texas, central Missouri, Ohio, central
Pennsylvania, and Long Island.

CONSERVATION: Not usually required.

NATURESERVE GLOBAL STATUS: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally,
though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the
periphery.

MANAGEMENT NEEDS: None reported.

SKY MEADOWS OCCURRENCE:

 

Note: Due to seasonal conditions in this region, occurrence may vary from

year to year. The designation of occurrence may range over two or more

categories and may vary even during a single season.

 

Key to Checklist

A   Abundant: Easy to see very large numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
C   Common: Usually each to see good numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
U   Uncommon: Sometimes found in appropriate habitat and proper time of year,
      usually in low numbers.
O   Occasional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times a year, usually
      in low numbers.
R   Rare: Small chance of being found, even in appropriate habitat at proper time of
      year. There are few individuals and may not be present every year.
X   Extirpated: Formerly present, no longer occurs in Sky Meadows Park.

 

      January

      February

      March

      April
      May

      June

      July

      August

      September

      October

      November

      December

 

 

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