Friday, May 20, 2011

Sandhill Skipper


Sandhill Skipper
The Sandhill Skipper or Saltgrass Skipper (Polites sabuleti) is a butterfly in the Hesperiidae family. It is found from southern British Columbia and eastern Washington, south through California and northern Arizona to Baja California and east to south-eastern Wyoming, central Colorado, and north-eastern New Mexico. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.
The wingspan of Sandhill Skipper  is 22–32 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from June to August at high elevations. There are several generations from March to October in the southern part of its range and at low elevations. The larvae feed on various grasses, including Cynodon dactylon, Poa pratensis, Distichlis spicata var. stricta, Eragrostis trichodes, Agrostis scabra, Festuca idahoensis, and Festuca brachyphylla. Adults feed on flower nectar.

Sandhill Skipper
Sandhill SkipperAbundance ~ It is common and widespread farther south; in Canada it is very local, but is common where it occurs (John Garland, pers. comm.).

Flight Season ~ The Sandhill Skipper flies in Canada from May to early July, and again from late August to early September.
Habits ~  Found in a wide variety of open grassy habitats; at Penticton it is usually seen around developed and inhabited areas where the introduced Diffuse Knapweed (Centaurea diffusa) is available as an abundant nectar source for the second generation.

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