Carolina Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes carolina [Skinner])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 7/16 inches (2.9 - 3.7 cm).
Identification: Upperside is dark brown; forewing with small yellow spots. Underside of forewing is black with a dull yellow apex; hindwing is dull yellow with brown spots.
Life history: Males perch in the afternoons in sunny openings to wait for females.
Flight: Three broods from April-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Probably switch cane (Arundinaria tecta).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of sweet pepperbush, swamp milkweed, cinquefoil, wild strawberry, blackberry, and ironweed.
Habitat: Near streams and swamps in wet woods.
Range: Southeast Virginia south to South Carolina; west to northern Mississippi. Isolated populations in Delaware, southern Illinois, and northwest Arkansas.
Conservation: Populations should be monitored as habitat is gradually being reduced by drainage and conversion to agriculture.
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:
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. Clark, A.H. and Clark, L.F. 1951. The Butterflies of Virginia. Smithsonian Miscellaneous collection No. 116:1-239. Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON. 280 pp. Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 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).]