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Peck's Skipper - Polites peckius

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Polites

Description

Peck's skipper has a wingspan of 1-1.25 inches. It has dark brown uppersides, small orange flecks on its forewing, and a orange patch on its hindwing. The underside of the hindwing has a patch of pale yellow spots surrounded by brown. The male has a curved black stigma, or scent, patch, on his forewing.

Range

Peck's skipper is found across southern Canada from British Columbia east to Nova Scotia. In the United States, it is found from eastern Oregon and Washington east to Maine and south to New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri, and northern Georgia. Peck's skipper is found throughout New Hampshire.

Habitat

Peck's skipper is found in open grassy areas like meadows, marshes, lawns, and roadsides.

Diet

The Peck's skipper caterpillar eats grasses like rice cutgrass and bluegrass. The adult eats nectar from plants like red clover, purple vetch, thistles, New York ironweed, milkweed, and dogbane.

Life Cycle

The male Peck's skipper perches in sunny areas and waits for a female. The female lays one egg at a time on the leaves of a host plant. The female Peck's skipper produces one to three broods a year. The caterpillar is maroon with light brown markings. It has a black head with white spots and streaks. The caterpillar overwinters.