Bell's Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes belli Freeman)
Wing span: 1 3/16 - 1 1/4 inches (3 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Fringes are strongly checkered. Upperside is dark brown; forewing has pale spots, but none in the cell. Underside is gray-black with 2 rows of pale gray spots.
Life history: Males perch to watch for receptive females. Caterpillars eat leaves and make shelters of folded leaves. Caterpillars of the last brood hibernate in the fourth stage and pupate within silk-lined leaf cases in soil debris.
Flight: Three broods from April-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Indian woodoats grass (Chasmanthium latifolia).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Grassy areas near creeks, in woodland openings and edges, and city gardens.
Range: Eastern Kansas, central Oklahoma, and central Texas east to southwest Ohio, central Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and western South Carolina.
