Peck's Skipper (Polites peckius [Kirby])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/4 inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Upperside of male is brown with reddish-orange patches; forewing has a sinuous stigma. Female is darker with no stigma. Underside of the hindwing of both sexes has a patch of large yellow spots in the center surrounded by dark brown.
Life history: Males perch in sunny open areas to await receptive females, and courtship takes place throughout the day. Females lay eggs singly; caterpillars eat leaves and live in leaf shelters. Caterpillars and chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: Two to three broods from May-October.
Caterpillar hosts: Rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides); probably bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and others.
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including red clover, purple vetch, thistles, selfheal, New York ironweed, blue vervain, common milkweed, swamp milkweed, dogbane, and New Jersey tea.
Habitat: Many open grassy habitats including meadows, prairies, lawns, marshes, landfills, roadsides, vacant lots, and power line right-of-ways.
Range: British Columbia east across southern Canada to Nova Scotia; south to northeastern Oregon, southern Colorado, northwest Arkansas, and northern Georgia.
