Is it a moth? Is it a butterfly? No, it’s a Skipper!
This separate family in the Lepidoptera order has approximately 275 species in North America, many of which are found only in Arizona and Texas. Most skippers are small to medium size, usually orange, brown, black, white, or gray. A few have iridescent colors. Skippers have large eyes, short antennae (often with hooked clubs), stout bodies, and three pairs of walking legs. Their flight is often rapid, making wing movement appear blurred.
Found mainly in grasslands, prairies, barrens, and old fields, adults of most species have long proboscises and feed in gardens and wild areas on floral nectar, but some also take up nutrients from bird droppings.
Caterpillars eat leaves of the North American native grasses Little and Big Bluestem, and live in tents of silked-together leaves. Fully-grown caterpillars hibernate and pupate in a sealed nest at the base of the host plant.
Just one of many reasons to reintroduce and preserve our native prairie grasses, why not plant a small plot in your yard today? Your “Neighbors” will be glad you did!
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