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Rural Skipper (Ochlodes agricola [Boisduval])
Wing span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).
Identification: Upperside is yellow-orange with dark borders and light translucent spots; male forewing stigma has gray in the center. Underside is reddish brown; hindwing band is pale to absent.
Life history: Males perch at the edges of clearings to await receptive females.
Flight: One brood from May-June.
Caterpillar hosts: Grasses.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Chaparral, streamsides, woodland openings, fencerows.
Range: California west of the Sierra Nevada Divide, south into Baja California Norte.
Conservation: Not usually required.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,
Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies including
adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Denver and Fort Collins, CO.
Tilden, J. W. 1986. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co.,
Boston, Mass. 370 pages, 23 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
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 1999 -
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