Salt Marsh Skipper (Panoquina panoquin [Scudder])
Wing span: 1 3/16 - 1 1/2 inches (3.5 - 3.9 cm).
Identification: Forewings are pointed. Wings are dark brown. Upperside of forewing has a few pale spots. Underside of hindwing has yellow veins and a short white bar at the end of the cell.
Life history: Males perch to wait for receptive females.
Flight: Two broods from May-August in the north; three broods from April-October in the south; several broods from February-December in Florida.
Caterpillar hosts: Seashore saltgrass (Distichlis spicata).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including privet, sweet pepperbush, red clover, gumweed, lippia, salt marsh fleabane, blue mistflower, thistle, and verbena.
Habitat: Coastal salt and brackish marshes, occasionally nearby fields and wood edges.
Range: Along the immediate Atlantic Coast from Long Island, New York south to Florida and the Keys; west along the Gulf Coast to South Texas.
