Rural Skipper (Ochlodes agricola [Boisduval])
Wing span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).
Identification: Upperside is yellow-orange with dark borders and light translucent spots; male forewing stigma has gray in the center. Underside is reddish brown; hindwing band is pale to absent.
Life history: Males perch at the edges of clearings to await receptive females.
Flight: One brood from May-June.
Caterpillar hosts: Grasses.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Chaparral, streamsides, woodland openings, fencerows.
Range: California west of the Sierra Nevada Divide, south into Baja California Norte.
