Yuma Skipper (Ochlodes yuma [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside has narrow dark borders blending into the reddish orange ground color, dark veins, and small indistinct pale spots. Male has a long, narrow black stigma; females is larger and darker with pale spots more distinct. Underside of hindwing is yellow with no markings or with very faint pale spots.
Life history: Males perch among host plants in low spots all day to await females. Females deposit eggs on or near the host plants. Caterpillars feed on leaves and take shelter in nests of rolled leaves.
Flight: Two broods from June-July and August-September from California north to southern Utah; one brood from July-September along the Colorado River.
Caterpillar hosts: Common reed (Phragmites australis).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Freshwater marshes, stream courses, oases, ponds, seeps, sloughs, springs, and canals.
Range: Common in its limited habitat in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, northern New Mexico, and Arizona.
