Sonora Skipper (Polites sonora [Scudder])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/4 inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Upperside is reddish-orange with a wide, light brown border. Male forewing has a wide black stigma. Hindwing has a light band of separate spots; band is more diffuse in female. Underside of hindwing varies from brown to greenish-brown, and has a narrow yellow-white band which may be composed of separate spots.
Life history: To wait for females, males perch in depressions in meadows all day.
Flight: One brood from June-August.
Caterpillar hosts: Possibly Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including white-flowered thistles.
Habitat: From sea level to 11,000 feet in coastal plains, streamsides, wet areas in high plains, and moist mountain meadows.
Range: Southern British Columbia south to southern California; east to Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.
