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Delaware Skipper - Anatrytone logan

Classification

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

Description

The Delaware skipper has a wingspan of 1-1.5 inches. The uppersides of its wings are a bright yellowish-orange and have a dark brown to black border with black veins. The undersides of its wings are a solid yellowish-orange. It has an orange fringe on the edge of its wings. The border on the female's wings is thicker than the border on the male's wings and the veins are darker.

Range

In North America, the Delaware skipper is found from southern Canada south to Arizona, Texas, and Florida. It is also found in Mexico and Central America. The Delaware skipper is found in New Hampshire.

Habitat

The Delaware skipper is often found in moist areas like marshes, prairies, bogs, open woods, fields, gardens, and yards.

Diet

The Delaware skipper caterpillar eats a variety of grasses, including switchgrass, bluestem, and wooly beardgrass. The adult Delaware skipper eats nectar from pink, purple, and white flowers including milkweeds, morning glories, clovers, buttonbush, thistles, and pickerelweed.

Lifecycle

The female lays single eggs on the leaves of a host plant. In the northern parts of its range, the Delaware skipper has one brood a year between July and August. In the southern parts of its range, it has two broods between May and September.