Snow's Skipper (Paratrytone snowi [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside is dark brown; forewing with several clear spots; male forewing with a narrow black stigma. Hindwing has a row of small reddish spots. Underside is reddish brown with a black forewing base; upperside spots are repeated below.
Life history: Adults have a very swift flight. Males perch in gullies all day to wait for females, who lay eggs singly on host plant leaves.
Flight: One brood from June-August.
Caterpillar hosts: Pine dropseed grass (Blepharoneuron tricholepis).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Openings in Ponderosa pine forests, mountain meadows, especially along streams and gulches..
Range: High elevations in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
