Sachem

sachem

This little skipper was resting in a patch of grass when I was able to take a photo of it. I have identified it as Atalopedes campestris, or sachem skipper. It belongs to the Hesperiidae family and Hesperiinae subfamily. This one is likely a female because males are brighter in color. The males are yellow-orange and females are yellow-brown to dark brown. The larvae have black heads and dark olive green bodies and brown lines and dark bumps. They have three broods from May to November in the north and four to five broods in the south from March to December. Caterpillars feed on grasses such as Bermuda grass, crabgrass, and goosegrass, and adults feed on nectar from a variety of flowers such as milkweed, buttonbush, and asters. They prefer to live in disturbed, open areas, which is probably why I saw it in a small patch of grass in an apartment complex. The population is noted to be globally secure, although they may be rare in certain areas they are native to.

Sources:

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Atalopedes-campestris

http://bugguide.net/node/view/9521

http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/North%20America%20-%20Atalopedes%20campestris.htm

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

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