Mating Sachem Skippers (Atalopedes campestris) on garlic chives. (Male is on the right.)
Range: Southern United States from Virginia west to California; south through Mexico and Central America to Brazil. Strays and colonizes north to central North Dakota, southern Michigan, Manitoba, and northern Pennsylvania.
Life history: Males perch on or near the ground during most of the day to wait for receptive females. Females lay single eggs on dry grass blades in the afternoon. Caterpillars feed on leaves and live at the base of grasses in shelters of rolled or tied leaves.
Please see Nearctica and/or BugGuide for complete species details.
(Thanks to Doug Taron for the ID on BugGuide.)
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Beautiful image Marvin, skippers are such difficult little buggers so identify.
ReplyDeleteAmazing detail.
ReplyDeleteI never realized how cute they are until I started photographing them. Nice picture
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What a beautiful place they select for mating. Wonder at the different variety of shades/spots on male and female.
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