Making Sense of the Skippers In Southern Illinois Skippers are challenging but not impossible
Learn what to expect on your site Learn what actually is on your site Pay particular attention to habitat and flight time Is it a skipper?
• Antennae have an elongated curved tip to the club Formerly Two Sub-groups of Hesperiidae
Pyrginae Hesperiinae Spread –Winged Skippers Grass Skippers Sootywings Yellow spots below Cloudywings Yellow/orange below Duskywings Tawny Edges Checkered Skippers “Witches” Autumn species Now The Dicot skippers Eudaminae
Pyrginae Eudaminae Spread –Winged Skippers Dicot Skippers Sootywings Silver-spotted Skipper Duskywings Hoary Edge Checkered Skippers Cloudywings Folded-wing Skipper Subgroups I. With yellow patches below
• Skippers with large yellow patches • Species with smaller yellow markings Skippers with large yellow patches
• Two species (hobomok and zabulon) • Medium size skippers • Both are woodland/edge species • Above, typical orange/brown skippers • Nearly half to most of the hindwing below is yellow • Both species have dark form females Zabulon Skipper Poanes zabulon • Very common in southern Illinois • Two generations: May and August • Host plant: Love Grass, other grasses • Brown spots in a large yellow patch on hind wing
Hobomok Skipper Poanes hobomok
• A savanna/oak woodland species
• Flies in spring (May/June) • Host plant: Switchgrass, other
grasses • Yellow patch projects out towards
wing margin
• No brown marks inside yellow patch
“Pocahontas” Females Zabulon Skipper is more southerly than Hobomok
Hobomok Zabulon Skippers with smaller yellow markings below • Yellow markings may be dots, stripes or rays on an otherwise dark hind wing below Peck’s (Yellowpatch) Skipper Polites coras
• Widespread- not remnant-reliant • Multiple generations through summer • Host plants are numerous grass species including rice cut grass • Shape of yellow spots distinctive • Outer and inner spots sometimes connect • One of the top 7 skippers
Dukes’ Skipper Euphyes dukesi
• Not widely recorded in Illinois • Habitat is shaded wetlands • Host plants are sedges Duke’s Skipper Euphyes dukesi
• Widespread- not remnant-reliant • Multiple generations through summer • Host plants are numerous grass species including rice cut grass • Shape of yellow spots distinctive • Outer and inner spots sometimes connect • One of the top 7 skippers Folded-wing Skipper Subgroups II. Plain orange or yellow below
• European Skipper • DelawareSkipper • Least Skipper Delaware Skipper Anatrytone logan • Lives in wetlands and mesic prairie • A single early summer generation annually • Strong flier • Yellow below clear, rich color- no white or olive cast • Medium sized • Pointed wings • Wing fringes yellow/orange
Byssus Skipper Problema byssus • Lives in wetlands and mesic prairie •
Least Skipper Ancyloxypha numitor • Lives in wetlands and mesic prairie • Can live in very disturbed habitat • Tiny, Weak flier • Rounded wings • Underside of the body is white • Wide dark border on upper side of hind wings • One of the top 7 skippers
European Skipper Thymelicus lineola • Non-native, lives in disturbed habitats with Eurasian grasses
• Small, Forewing rounded
• Weak flier, perches frequently
• Yellow below typically has whitish or olive cast
• Wing fringes pale
• Above orange with narrow black border
• Small
• One of the top 7 skippers
Folded-wing Skipper Subgroups III. Tawny Edges
• Tawny Edge • Crossline Skipper
Tawny Edge Polites themistocles • Likes dry habitats, short vegetation • Can live in disturbed habitat • Multiple generations per year • Hindwings plain olive below • One of the top 7 skippers
Crossline Skipper Polites origenes • Likes more intact habitats than Tawny Edge • Lives in dry to mesic prairies • Tolerates some disturbance • Hindwings have faint spotting below
Folded-wing Skipper Subgroups IV. The 3 “Witches”
• Little Glassywing • Dun Skipper • Northern Broken Dash (especially female) Little Glassywing Pompeius verna
• Prominent “glassy” spot usually visible, especially from above • Discrete white behind the bulb of the antennae • A few individuals have white spots on underside of hindwing
Dun Skipper Euphyes vestris
• Typically completely unmarked • Underside of antennal bulb may be slightly paler than the rest of the antenna • There may be small, faint white spots on the underside of the hindwing in some individuals
Broken Dash Wallengrenia egeremet
• Row of spots on underside of the hindwing in the shape of 3 or backwards 3 • The markings may be faint in some individuals
Folded-wing Skipper Subgroups V. Late Summer-Autumn Species
• Fiery Skipper • Sachem • Leonard’s Skipper Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus
• Not resident • A more southern species,migrates north • A late summer species • Feeds on lawn grasses- CPD monitors should be aware of this one • Dark markings on a light background • Markings on females blurrier than on males • One of the top 7 skippers
Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus
“Flames” on wing margins above Sachem Atelopedes campestrus
• Not resident • A more southern species,migrates north • A late summer species • Pale chevrons on dark background • Females darker, chevrons more distinct Sachem Atelopedes campestrus
• Not resident • A more southern species,migrates north • A late summer species • Feeds on lawn grasses- CPD monitors should be aware of this one • Dark markings on a light background • Markings on females blurrier than on males
Leonard’s Skipper Hesperia leonardus
• Rare savanna species • Most likely encountered in the Palos region • A late summer species • Bright white spots on dark background
Folded-wing Skipper Subgroups VI. Rare Strays
• Clouded Skipper • Ocola Skipper Clouded Skipper Lerema accius
• Dark
• Dark band through middle of hindwing
• Lighter “cloud” near edge of hindwing
Ocola Skipper Panoquina ocola
• Very swept back wings
• Faint spots between veins of hindwing
Dicot Skippers
• Silver-spotted Skipper • Hoary Edge
• Cloudywings Silver-Spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus
• Very common in many habitats • Multiple generations annually • Bright white spot in center of wing
• White spot has an even border
Hoary Edge Achalarus lyciades
• Flies in open woodlands • Multiple generations annually • Hottled white patch ear edge of wing
• White spot has a diffuse border
Cloudywings Thorybes
• Northern Cloudywing • Southern Cloudywing Northern Cloudywing Thorybes pylades
• Spots of forewing smaller Cloudywings Thorybes
• Northern Cloudywing • Southern Cloudywing Southern Cloudywing Thorybes bathyllus
• Spots on forewing Larger • Hourglass shape in cell
Spread-winged Skippers Pyrginae
• Duskywings (Erynnis sp.) Checkered Skipper Duskywings Erynnis sp.
● About 8 species ● Identification to genus is fine Duskywings Erynnis sp.
● About 8 species ● Identification to genus is fine Checkered Skipper Pyrgus communis
● Small ● Likes sunny open areas ● Similar habitat to buckeye Checkered Skipper Pyrgus communis
● Small ● Likes sunny open areas ● Similar habitat to buckeye Common Sootywing Pholisora catullus
● Small ● Likes disturbed areas ● Black with white spots on forewing ● Rounded wings Common Sootywing Pholisora catullus
● Small ● Likes disturbed areas ● Black with white spots on forewing ● Rounded wings Coping with Skipper ID First the bad news
• There are other species of folded-wing skippers that we are not covering today • Most are very rare, and found on a handful of sites Coping with Skipper ID Now the good news
• You can narrow down the number of species that you need to worry about Species that most monitors should expect
• Zabulon Skipper • Least Skipper • Tawny Edge • Peck’s Skipper • Fiery Skipper • Silver-spotted Skipper • Wild Indigo Duskywing Once you start learning skipper ID, you will find it easier.
Eventually, you’ll probably want to start seeking out rarer species with limited distributions.