North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Arizona

Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola)
JPG -- species photo

Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola [W. H. Edwards])

Wing span: 1 3/8 - 1 11/16 inches (3.5 - 4.3 cm).

Identification: Forewings are long, projecting far beyond the hindwings when the butterfly is at rest. Upperside of wings is dark brown; forewing with some pale spots. Underside of hindwing is brown with no markings; female has a blue-purple iridescent sheen.

Life history: Flight is rapid and adults may feed while hanging upside down from flowers.

Flight: In warm summer months in the north; August-October in Arizona; throughout the year in Florida and South Texas.

Caterpillar hosts: Rice (Oryza sativa), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), and trompetilla grass (Hymenachne amplexicaulis).

Adult food: Nectar from flowers of lantana, shepherd's needle, swamp milkweed, buttonbush, and pickerelweed.

Habitat: Low damp fields and pastures.

Range: Resident from Paraguay north through tropical America and the West Indies to South Texas and the Deep South. Strays north to southeast Arizona, west Texas, central Missouri, Ohio, central Pennsylvania, and Long Island.

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:

Bailowitz, R. A., and J. P. Brock. 1991. Butterflies of southeastern Arizona. 
     Sonoran Arthropod Studies, Inc., Tucson, Arizona. 342 pages.

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.

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. 

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:

Bailowitz, R. A. and J. P. Brock. 1991. Butterflies of Southeastern Arizona. 
     Tucson, Ariz.: Sonoran Arthropod Studies, Inc.

Garth, J.S. 1950. Butterflies of Grand Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon 
     Natural History Association, Grand Canyon, Ariz.

Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 
     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 
     Privately published, Denver, Colo.

Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 
     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola)
distribution map
map legend

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