North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Virginia

Salt Marsh Skipper (Panoquina panoquin)
JPG -- species photo

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.

Conservation: Not usually required.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may 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.



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).]

Salt Marsh Skipper (Panoquina panoquin)
distribution map
map legend

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