Epargyreus clarus
Encyclopedia
The Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) is a butterfly
of the family Hesperiidae. It is claimed to be the most recognized skipper in North America
.
The caterpillar's head is large and brown with two orange dots mimicking eyes. It has a long, narrow, green body.
throughout most of the United States
to northern Mexico
; it is absent in the Great Basin
and western Texas
.
Adults fly throughout the warm part of the year. They have one brood per year in the North and West, two in the East, and three or four in the Deep South.
Females lay single eggs near, not on, the caterpillars' food plants. The caterpillars must find their own way to the plants. Young caterpillars fold leaves to make shelters, and older ones stick leaves together with silk
. They overwinter as chrysalids.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the family Hesperiidae. It is claimed to be the most recognized skipper in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Description
The wingspan of an adult is 43–67 mm. The adult has translucent gold spots on the forewings and silvery bands on the hindwings.The caterpillar's head is large and brown with two orange dots mimicking eyes. It has a long, narrow, green body.
Life cycle
The adult Silver-spotted skipper occurs in fields, gardens and at forest edges. It ranges from southern CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
throughout most of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
; it is absent in the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
and western Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Adults fly throughout the warm part of the year. They have one brood per year in the North and West, two in the East, and three or four in the Deep South.
Females lay single eggs near, not on, the caterpillars' food plants. The caterpillars must find their own way to the plants. Young caterpillars fold leaves to make shelters, and older ones stick leaves together with silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
. They overwinter as chrysalids.
Larval foods
The larvae feed on legumes, many trees and shrubs but also some herbaceous plants. Their hosts include:- GleditsiaGleditsiaGleditsia is a genus of locust trees in the family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae, native to North America and Asia. The Latin name commemorates Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch, director of the Berlin Botanical Gardens, who died in 1786....
- WisteriaWisteriaWisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...
- Robinia pseudoacaciaBlack locustRobinia pseudoacacia, commonly known as the Black Locust, is a tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States, but has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is...
- AmorphaAmorphaAmorpha is a genus of plants in the pea family Fabaceae. All the species are native to North America, from southern Canada, most of the United States, and northern Mexico. They are commonly known as false indigo...
- GlycyrrhizaGlycyrrhizaGlycyrrhiza is a genus of about 18 accepted species in the legume family , with a subcosmopolitan distribution in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas....
Nectar flowers
Adults almost never feed on yellow flowers. Among their favorites are:- Lathyrus latifolius
- Asclepias syriacaCommon MilkweedAsclepias syriaca, commonly called Common Milkweed, Butterfly flower, Silkweed, Silky Swallow-wort, Virginia Silkweed, is a herbaceous plant species. It is in the genus Asclepias, making it a type of milkweed. This species is native to most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding...
- Trifolium pratense
- CephalanthusCephalanthusCephalanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the madder family, Rubiaceae. Different authorities accept between six and 15 species, which are commonly known as Buttonbushes. Cephalanthus occidentalis is native to the southeastern United States. The others occur in tropical regions of the...
- LiatrisLiatrisLiatris is a genus of ornamental plants in the Asteraceae family, native to North America, Mexico, and the Bahamas. These plants are used as a popular summer flowers for bouquets.They are perennials, surviving the winter in the form of corms....
- ThistleThistleThistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
External links
- Epargyreus clarus, Silver-spotted Skipper on the UFUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ IFASInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
Featured Creatures Web site