Orange-edged Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes fimbriata [Plötz])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 1/4 inches (2.9 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Head, palpi, and fringes are orange. (Occasional gray-fringed individuals occur in Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains). Upperside is dark brown with no markings; male forewing stigma is very narrow. Underside is slightly glossy dark brown.
Life history: Not reported.
Flight: One brood from June-July in Arizona; several broods from March-August in Mexico.
Caterpillar hosts: Nodding brome (Bromus anomalus), Arizona wheatgrass (Elymus arizonicus); and probably smooth brome (Bromus inermis), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata), and others.
Adult food: Flower nectar including that of Asclepias.
Habitat: Pinyon-Ponderosa pine grassy woodland, cool canyons, roadsides.
Range: Common in its restricted range of the high mountains of southeastern Arizona south into Mexico.
Conservation: Populations and their habitats should be conserved wherever found.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
