Dun Skipper (Euphyes vestris [Boisduval])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside of head and thorax is yellow-orange. Wings are brown-black; male forewing has a black stigma, female forewing has very small cloudy white spots.
Life history: To find receptive females, males perch in low spots about 3 feet from the ground. Females lay eggs singly on leaves of the host plants. Caterpillars feed on leaves and make shelters of rolled or tied leaves. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate, emerge in the spring to complete their development, and pupate in silken tubes at the base of the plants.
Flight: One brood from June-early August in the north; two broods from May-September in the mid-South; several broods from March-October in the Deep South and Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Various sedges including chufa flatsedge (Cyperus esculentus) and sun sedge (Carex heliophila).
Adult food: Nectar from white, pink, or purple flowers including common milkweed, purple vetch, selfheal, peppermint, dogbane, New Jersey tea, and viper's bugloss.
Habitat: Wet areas near deciduous woods such as meadows, seeps, swamp edges, and streams.
Range: Nova Scotia west across southern Canada to southern Alberta; south to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and eastern Texas. Separate populations in the high plains and Rocky Mountains, and on the Pacific Coast.
