This little butterfly is a silver-spotted skipper. It is a part of the
Hesperiidae or skipper family. There are approximately 3500 different species of skippers around the world and about 230 species in North America. Skippers usually have large stocky bodies in comparison to the size of the wings and fly in a quick darting
pattern, which is how they got their
common name.
The skipper family is divided into three subfamilies, the
spreadwing skippers, the grass skippers and the
skipperlings. The silver-spotted skipper is a member of the
spreadwing subfamily. The silver-spotted is one of the larger skippers and is named for the large
irregularly shaped white or silver spot on the bottom side of the hind wing. Adult silver-spotted skippers feed on a variety of different flowers, including red clover as in the pictured above which were taken at Eagle Bluff, while the larval food consists of black lotus tree leaves as well as different types of legumes.
This little butterfly is a silver-spotted skipper. It is a part of the Hesperiidae or skipper family. There are approximately 3500 different species of skippers around the world and about 230 species in North America. Skippers usually have large stocky bodies in comparison to the size of the wings and fly in a quick darting pattern, which is how they got their common name.
The skipper family is divided into three subfamilies, the spreadwing skippers, the grass skippers and the skipperlings. The silver-spotted skipper is a member of the spreadwing subfamily. The silver-spotted is one of the larger skippers and is named for the large irregularly shaped white or silver spot on the bottom side of the hind wing. Adult silver-spotted skippers feed on a variety of different flowers, including red clover as in the pictured above which were taken at Eagle Bluff, while the larval food consists of black lotus tree leaves as well as different types of legumes.
