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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Delaware

Rare Skipper (Problema bulenta)
JPG -- species photo

Rare Skipper (Problema bulenta [Boisduval & LeConte])

Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 1/8 inches (3.9 - 5.4 cm).

Identification: Upperside is yellow-orange with black borders, which are wider in the female. Underside of forewing is yellow-orange with black on the lower outer edge; hindwing is yellow with no markings.

Life history: Not reported.

Flight: Two broods in May and July-September; possibly one brood in the north.

Caterpillar hosts: Not reported.

Adult food: Nectar from flowers of pickerelweed and swamp milkweed.

Habitat: Brackish river marshes and abandoned rice paddies.

Range: Isolated populations along the Atlantic Coast from southern New Jersey and Maryland south to coastal Georgia. The range was extended into New Jersey during the 1980's.

Conservation: Populations should be conserved wherever found.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled globally because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences), or because of other factors demonstrably making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range. (Endangered throughout its range).

Management needs: None reported.

References:


Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns 

     Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates.



Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Peterson 

     field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates.



Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, 

     Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:


Glassberg,  J.  1993.  Butterflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to 

     Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region.  Oxford Univ. Press, 

     New York, N.Y.  160 pp.

     

Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.     



Shapiro, A.M. 1966.  Butterflies of the Delaware Valley.  American Entomological

     Society Special Publication.  Philadelphia, PA.  79 pp. 



Woodbury, E.N.  1994.  Butterflies of Delmarva.  Delaware Nature Society, Inc.,

     Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, MD.  138 pp.  [NOTE: this book only 

     treats True Butterflies (Papilionoidea).  It does not treat Skippers

     (Hesperioidea).]

Rare Skipper (Problema bulenta)
distribution map
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