silverspotted skipper

silverspotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

FAMILY: Skippers (Hesperiidae)
SUBFAMILY: Spread-wing Skippers (Pyrginae)

IDENTIFICATION: Wings are brown-black; hindwing is lobed. Forewing
has transparent gold spots; underside of hindwing has a metallic silver
band.

LIFE HISTORY: Adults perch upside down under leaves at night and on
hot or cloudy days. To seek females males perch on branches and tall
weeds, and occasionally patrol. Females lay single eggs near the host
trees, and the caterpillars must find their proper host. Young caterpillars
live in a folded leaf shelter; older ones live in a nest of silked-together
leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.

FLIGHT: Two broods from May-September in most of the East, a single
brood to the north and west, three-four broods from February-
December in the Deep South.

WING SPAN: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).

CATERPILLAR HOSTS: Many woody legumes including black locust
(Robinia pseudacacia), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and false
indigo (Amorpha species). Also selected herbaceous legumes such as
Glycyrrhiza species.

ADULT FOOD: The Silver-spotted Skipper almost never visits yellow
flowers but favors blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and
cream-colored ones. These include everlasting pea, common milkweed,
red clover, buttonbush, blazing star, and thistles.

HABITAT: Disturbed and open woods, foothill stream courses, prairie
waterways.

RANGE: Extreme southern Canada and most of the continental United
States except the Great Basin and west Texas; northern Mexico.

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.